Haunted
by Be Boring
Summary: COMPLETE Everyone knew Severus Snape hated Sirius Black, but they didn't know there was a reason. Years after the event that changed Snape's life forever, someone comes to remind him of the past he tried so hard to forget.
1. Snape's True Worst Memory

Author's Note: I realize this is cutting it very close to the sixth book, but I didn't want to take the chance that any of the characters involved in my story would die, so I figured I should at least get one or two chapters out before the new book.

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Haunted

By Be Boring

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Prologue: Snape's True Worst Memory

Bright lights, loud music, glittering fairies, and eager, dancing bodies filled the large room that most were accustomed to seeing with four long tables seated with chattering students. For this special occasion, the tables had been hidden away to make room for several smaller tables and a large buffet. It was the two-year reunion party for the seventh years of 1976, all of whom were making the most of it. Well, the majority of them anyway.

Severus Snape glanced around at the festivities with disgust. As far as he was concerned, all his former classmates were making fools of themselves. Why they would want to embarrass themselves by moving their bodies in what they thought to be seductive manners for people they hadn't seen for the past two years and might never see again was beyond him. Besides, having a two-year reunion party was ridiculous. Who had a reunion after only two years? He suspected that Dumbledore was trying to round up more people to fight He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, whose power had been increasing for the last several years. He didn't even know why he had bothered coming, he definitely didn't want to be any closer to these buffoons any longer than he absolutely had to. He had personally hoped never to see another one of these smiling faces again. Then again, there was _one _face that he would like to see again, and it had just entered the Great Hall.

Long, wavy blonde hair, clear blue eyes, and a fair-skinned innocence definitely set Cassandra Malfoy apart from the other females in the room. Still, her startling beauty was actually only one of the reasons that Severus was so fascinated with her. She had a sharp wit, incredible intelligence, and an undeniable charm that made her unlike any person he had ever met. The fact that she seemed to be able to tolerate him was another point in her favor as well.

Cassandra didn't seem to notice the blatant stares she was getting as she made her way across the room to Severus. Despite the attention she received regularly from her male classmates, she was blissfully unaware of their attraction to her. If anything, the attention made her uncomfortable. Unlike the rest of her family, she was extremely modest and didn't like being the center of attention. Perhaps this was what had made the Sorting Hat choose to place her in Hufflepuff ten years ago. Although her family hadn't been pleased about that, they easily forgot it when they found out that she had almost instantly made a connection with Severus Snape. No matter what anyone else thought, Cassandra felt that Severus was largely misunderstood. She honestly couldn't see why those two awful Gryffindor boys had insisted on picking on him. Still, she had never intervened because of her fear of being turned into a social outcast. Despite the fact that she wasn't like her family in many ways, her pride still somehow managed to come before what she felt was right.

Over the past two years, Severus had been studying Potions more in depth, but Cassandra's parents had sent her off to a private magic university, cutting her off from all of her friends. He hadn't even been able to write to her while she was gone, so he'd been waiting for the opportunity to find out everything she had been studying. She was a bright girl, he had no doubt that she was excelling in whatever she had chosen for herself.

Happiness radiated from her lovely face as she hugged Severus. "I didn't think you would show up. I know you didn't want to."

Severus bit back the sarcastic reply that normally would have sprung from his lips and managed to return her smile. He wasn't particularly comfortable with public displays of emotion, but he figured he could let it go since it had been so long since they'd last seen each other. "I decided I could put up with it as long as you were here." He blushed slightly, that had sounded so corny that he couldn't believe he had said it. To try and save face, he added, "Nobody else from our class can hold a conversation for longer than thirty seconds."

Slightly stunned but definitely pleased, Cassandra grabbed his hand. "Let's go get something to eat, I ended up missing dinner because of all the packing I had to do. I'll be spending the summer with my parents, and I'll be leaving for their house tomorrow."

They passed a group of Slytherins who were laughing raucously. Severus tried to speed up, but before they could pass the group, Lucius Malfoy had reached out and gripped his arm firmly. He offered a charming smile to Cassandra as he started pulling Severus away. "Excuse me, dear cousin, while I borrow your date for a moment."

Severus, who knew that "a moment" could turn out to be quite some time, mouthed to Cassandra _"Go on," _before Lucius pulled him out into the entrance hall. Pulling his arm out of the other man's grip, he took a step back and rolled his eyes. "What did you want to talk to me about this time, Lucius?"

Lucius chuckled at the dark, greasy-haired twenty-year-old. "You know what I want to talk about."

Severus crossed his arms angrily. "I'm not going to go meet the Dark Lord. I've done what you asked and made potions when you requested it, but I'm not interested in becoming one of those death people." Quite honestly, Severus had been very interested in Voldemort's way of doing things, but his respect for Dumbledore held him back from taking any action. Who would want to be pitted against Albus Dumbledore? Besides, without Dumbledore or Cassandra, Severus was quite sure that he would have left Hogwarts long before graduating, even if only to attend a different school.

A strange smile crossed Lucius's face. "They're Death Eaters, and I think you'd be a rather good one. I've mentioned you by name to him the last few times I brought him the potions you've made, so he knows my source now." Lucius had been an active Death Eater ever since graduation, but up until recently, Voldemort had been under the impression -- or Lucius believed he was -- that Lucius was the one making the potions. Severus only obliged because he was drawn to the way Voldemort handled things.

At the meaningful look on his face, Severus blanched slightly. "Wait, he doesn't think that I'm coming to see him, does he?"

"Of course he does, your parents were just as excited to get you to meet him as I was. I naturally told him that you would be joining me the next time I brought in a potion."

Severus had to use almost all of his self-control to keep from punching the grinning man in front of him, as well as to hold back the rush of fury that passed through him on the mention of his parents. With very forced politeness, he spat out, "Then you can tell him that there's been a mistake, I'm not interested in going to meet him. Now, if you'll excuse me, your cousin is waiting for me back in the hall."

Just as he reached out and grabbed the door to head inside, Lucius caught the back of his robes. "I almost forgot, don't drink any of the pumpkin juice."

It's not like he needed to worry about that too much, Severus wasn't a big fan of pumpkin juice. "Why?" he asked, although he could already guess the answer.

"Antonin put in a Confusion Draught just for laughs. With the energy of all the people out there, I'd hate to not be thinking clearly. Who knows what could happen?"

He nodded his thanks briskly before walking back into the Great Hall. He had hardly gone ten steps when a voice rang out, "Oh my, is Snivellus wearing _dress robes_?I hope there aren't any children around, I wouldn't want them to be traumatized for life!"

He heaved a deep sigh and deliberately kept his eyes averted from the area of floor that was ten feet to his left, where a man with unkempt black hair was sneering at him._ 'Don't answer him, just find Cassandra. She won't like it if I get into another fight with him.'_ Besides, James had obviously had something to drink before coming to the party and wasn't thinking clearly. Cassandra would be even less impressed if he picked a fight with an intoxicated man. He couldn't help but think longingly of the end of the party, he'd never have to see James Potter's laughing face again. It gave him a bit of satisfaction to see Sirius Black gulping down a large glass of pumpkin juice, but his eyes were still searching for his date.

Finally, he spotted her sitting at a small table alone, finishing off her drink and picking up one of the many tiny sandwiches that were sitting on her plate. She grinned at him as he sat down. "You'd think that they would at least make these sandwiches a bit bigger than bite-size. I've already eaten at least ten of the little damn things and I still don't feel anywhere near full. I think my juice was more filling."

Now Severus's attention was wholly on the empty glass in front of her. "What kind of juice did you have?"

She shrugged and popped another mini-sandwich into her mouth. "I didn't look at the pitcher I poured it out of, but I think it's pumpkin juice. Tastes funny, though."

Great, this evening was just turning out fantastic so far. "How much have you had?"

She frowned slightly, although she didn't seem very concerned. "Somewhere around three or four glasses. It's so warm in here that I get thirsty every ten seconds." A look of shock crossed her face as he grabbed her arm and dragged her into one of the corridors and into an empty classroom. "What's wrong? What's going on?"

He firmly sat her down on a desk and moved away from her. "There was a Confusion Draught in the pumpkin juice, it'll probably come into effect any minute now."

"But I don't want to miss the party! Come on, I feel fine, and Confusion Draughts aren't too severe. As long as you're next to me, I'll be fine."

"No, I don't want to take any chances. You'll hardly know what you're doing, and you won't remember much of the party anyway after the potion takes effect. I don't want you to do anything you'll regret."

The words didn't seem to have changed her mind at all, but he didn't have time to try and convince her. The door behind him opened and James walked in, his eyes widening at the sight of them together in the dark classroom. A rueful smile passed over his face. "Wow, Snivellus, I knew you were desperate for some action, but in the middle of a classroom? Really, I thought you had more style."

Cassandra scowled and tried to grab Severus's arm, but he threw it off. Before he knew it, he and James were in the corridor, sending jinxes at each other. Admittedly, Severus wasn't as talented as James as far as dueling went, but he could hold his own. In only ten minutes, he had James backing up the first stairway they came to.

"_Impedimenta!_" he shouted, but James had already raised his wand.

"_Protego!_" James cried back. Severus didn't have any time to dodge his returning spell, they were standing too close, and he was sent flying backward. The scene around him started spinning, the floor seemed to be approaching rather quickly, there was a brief flash of the panicked expression on James's face, then his head snapped off a table at the bottom of the stairs and everything went black.

The pain that seared through Severus's head as he sat up was almost unbearable. It took him several moments of staring at his surroundings before he realized that he was in the infirmary. His hand instinctively shot up to the back of his head, but there was nothing there. Madam Pomfrey must have already healed the wound, but the pain in his head was still there. His eyes immediately turned to the bedside table, and with a rush of relief he picked up the small cup of potion that was there. Taking a quick gulp of it, he slid out of bed and slipped back into his shoes.

* * *

_'Cassandra,'_ he thought suddenly. How long had he been up here? She had to be wondering where he was. Looking at the clock, he saw that it was not too long after midnight. He'd been out for over two hours. Finishing his potion, he headed down to the Great Hall. There were still several people dancing, but it was less than half the number of people that had been there before.

It didn't surprise him too much when she wasn't in the classroom he had left her in, it wasn't in her nature to sit back and do what she was told. He just hoped that she used some of her common sense and went to Hogsmeade to go to bed or something when he didn't come back. People under the influence of a Confusion Draught often did things they would never have dreamed of doing if they were in their right mind. It took away all of their inhibitions and often left their memories of the time a little hazy. In fact, it wasn't too different from being drunk, but without the hangover the next day.

He eventually reached out and grabbed the robes of Melissa Houthen, one of Cassandra's close friends. "Hey, have you seen Cassandra lately?"

Melissa pointed down one of the other corridors. "She went that way with somebody. I didn't see who it was, but I never saw her come back."

Severus immediately took off down the corridor, shoving open doors as he went. Who would she have come here with? All of her friends were still in the Great Hall, there was no one else for her to be alone with. Then again, with a Confusion Draught, she could wind up talking to pretty much anyone. No other possibilities even entered his mind. It wasn't until he was nearly at the end of the hall that he heard something. He froze and held his breath, listening for whatever it was. Soon, he heard some kind of creaking noise coming from the room to his right. Moving as silently as possible, he slid the door open and peered inside. To his disgust, it looked like two people were sleeping on the floor. The noise had been caused by the man, who was nearest to the door, as he rolled over and nudged a desk with his leg. His back was facing Severus, and his body was blocking the view of most of the woman's body. Severus was just about to leave when the man rolled over again. Now he smirked as the man's face came into clear view; Sirius Black reached up drowsily and shoved some of his long hair out of his mouth and promptly slumped back down and started snoring.

Severus crept closer in spite of himself. He couldn't help but be a little curious as to who Black had managed to trick into sleeping with him. He had made it almost halfway to the couple when the woman rolled onto her back, fully exposing her naked body as the robes she had been using as blankets fell off of her. Suddenly, Severus's stomach dropped. She had long blonde hair. Although it was covering her face, panic was rising in his throat. He slid closer and brushed some of her hair gently off her face, then stopped breathing. Air simply would not make its way into his lungs, his body seemed to have shut down.

"No," he whispered. "NO!" At his shout, both Sirius and Cassandra were startled awake. Cassandra looked up into his face serenely, looking somewhat dazed and glassy-eyed. "Sev? What are you doing here?" She glanced down at herself and automatically pulled her robes back over her. "Why am I...?" The words stopped in her throat. Her eyes had finally landed on Sirius, who looked just as dazed as she did.

Severus ran out of the room, leaning against the wall of the corridor while trying to stop his body from shaking. There had to be a mistake, even under the influence of a Confusion Draught Cassandra would never betray him like that. She knew how he felt about Sirius Black. How could she do this? With a sort of grim satisfaction, he listened to her panic in the other room.

"What's going on? What happened?" she practically shouted.

"Oh please, what do you think happened? We drank a little funny-tasting pumpkin juice from the party and woke up together naked, it doesn't take a genius to figure it out." Although his comments were sarcastic, Sirius didn't sound much calmer than Cassandra.

Her voice shook as she answered. "I don't care how much of that Confusion Draught was in the juice, I wouldn't have done anything with you. I wouldn't have..."

"Just snap out of it. I still remember actually doing it, so I can guarantee that it happened." There was a slight pause, then he sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound like an asshole. It's just that I wasn't expecting this at all."

"You weren't expecting it? _You_ weren't expecting it? What about me? I was wandering around in some kind of daze, and then you came along and decided to have some fun!"

"That's not fair! It's not like I set out to do anything with you! Here, you're going to hurt yourself that way, let me help."

Severus could only assume that he had moved toward her, because Cassandra nearly burst out in hysterics. "Don't touch me! I don't want you anywhere near me! I have to go talk to someone."

Severus ran away from the door and back into the Great Hall, he had no interest in talking to her. His mind was still too disturbed by what he had seen to talk to her yet. Somehow, it had pleased him to hear her freaking out like that, after what she had done he wanted her to feel some pain. The fact that it wasn't her fault didn't really make an appearance in his mind.

Hearing the hurried footsteps behind him that indicated Cassandra was coming, Severus strode purposefully across the room and out the front doors of Hogwarts. He had nearly made it all the way to the front gate when a voice called out to him. "Snape! Slow down!"

He sighed and turned to see Lucius running after him. "Let me guess, you still want me to join you in being part of the group of Muggle torturers?"

Lucius chuckled. "It's not just Muggles that the Dark Lord deals with. He also wants to get rid of Mudbloods and people who support them."

The faces of James Potter and Sirius Black swam in Severus's mind. "Then I hope you still plan on having company when you go to meet him."

* * *

Severus Snape sat bolt upright in bed, breathing heavily and dripping sweat. What had made him dream about that? He hadn't so much as thought of the time when he'd decided to become a Death Eater for several years. His eyes shot to the calendar. It had been nearly eighteen and a half years since he had attended that horrible party. It was hard to believe that it had been so long, the memories were still so fresh. That had been the last time he had seen Cassandra, he'd avoided any chance of meeting her after that incident. After a few months, she had stopped trying to contact him and that had been the last he'd heard from her. A couple years later he had asked Lucius what had ever happened to her, but he hadn't known. She seemed to have just disappeared. Perhaps she had wanted to start fresh somewhere, without the burden of her family's strict views hanging over her head. Still, he'd always wondered where she had ended up.

Shaking his head, he climbed out of bed and stole a glance at the clock on the wall. 5:00 AM. _Well, I may as well get ready._ He had been busy for the last few days refilling his stockrooms with ingredients. School would be starting in a few days, and he needed his supplies.

* * *

Madam Cassa, the owner of the White Charm Inn of Hogsmeade, was just starting to fill up her baskets of sweets that she left at every door for her guests when the bell on her front door sounded. She walked out to the front hall of her inn, then smiled sweetly at the newcomer. This would certainly be the most attractive guest in her inn. Before her stood a teenage girl, probably around seventeen years old, that was about 5'6" with long, deep brown hair that was wavy until it reached the ends with a gentle spiral curl. She had bright blue eyes that seemed to hold a certain playfulness, and her slightly tanned but otherwise fair skin and full lips seemed to finish off a dark-haired porcelain doll. Madam Cassa's breath nearly caught in her throat when the girl smiled in a friendly manner, showing brilliantly white teeth. The girl seemed to notice her reaction, although she wasn't rude enough to comment.

"Are there any rooms available? I'm sorry for stopping in at this hour of the morning, but it was the earliest I could make it and I didn't want to wait."

"That's quite all right, dear," Madam Cassa said in her cheery manner. "I'm always up this early, and there's plenty of room for you here. I hope you had enough rest before you arrived, because it gets rather difficult to get any sleep once people start moving around outside. Hogsmeade isn't a very quiet place."

The girl laughed. "That okay, I've been told I could sleep through an explosion, so a noisy city won't bother me. I really could use some sleep though, I've been awake all night. I'm pretty excited, I'll be starting at Hogwarts in a few days."

"Where are you transferring from?"

"I was home-schooled."

"Why are you coming to Hogwarts, then?"

The girl flushed slightly and hesitated before replying, "My mother died a month ago."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Madam Cassa said immediately. As she walked behind the front desk and reached down to grab the guest book, she added, "I don't believe you told me your name, dear."

Once again the girl smiled enigmatically, forcing away the sadness that had entered her voice only moments ago. "My name's Necia Holt." As she watched Madam Cassa writing her name down in the guest book, she glanced down at her luggage. Hopefully the older woman hadn't noticed that the name on her luggage tags was different. She smiled again as she was led up to her room, letting it slide off her face when the door finally closed behind her. Necia Malfoy had arrived in Hogsmeade.


	2. Terrible First Impressions

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Haunted

By Be Boring

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Chapter 1: Terrible First Impressions

Snape was hardly aware that he was loosely holding a jar of beetle's eyes that was dangerously close to slipping from his fingers. His dream kept coming back to haunt him. Why had he dreamed about Cassandra, and why of that particular day? There were so many good memories with her he could have been dreaming about, so why had that one come to mind? He could still feel the hidden rage that rose inside him at the memory of seeing her naked next to Sirius. Although common sense told him that it hadn't been her fault, he knew that he would never have been able to look into her eyes without feeling disgust again. Sirius had enjoyed the one thing that he had been truly looking forward to. It wasn't just the sex, he simply wanted to be as close to Cassandra as possible, and sex represented that for him. Even with Sirius gone for just over a year, it didn't hold back his hatred for that man.

It took him a moment to realize that he was no longer holding the jar of beetle's eyes, for it was now hovering three feet above the ground in front of him. He reached out and snatched it, then mumbled, "Good morning, Headmaster."

Albus Dumbledore smiled serenely and made his way into Snape's class storage room. "Good morning to you as well, Severus. What brought about this strange change in you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Snape grumbled sulkily, setting the jar in its rightful place on the shelf and leaning down to pick up a few more to set next to it.

"Come now, don't insult my intelligence. It's not like you to be so careless with your students' ingredients, and the fact that you're doing this by hand when it could be done in only a few seconds with the aid of your wand makes me a bit suspicious. Didn't you sleep well?"

"I slept fine," he replied tonelessly, refusing to admit that the reason that he wasn't using magic or requesting that a house elf do this kind of work was because he was so shaken after his dream that he needed to do something with his hands, and also because he didn't trust himself to use a wand right now. With his luck, he'd probably blow up this entire room.

Albus sighed resignedly, knowing he wouldn't get anything else out of his moody colleague. "If you need anything, you know where to find me." With that said, he turned and left, leaving Snape feeling partly relieved and partly frustrated. He didn't want to tell Albus about the dream, but it would have been nice to share his confusion with someone who might be able to tell him why it had come back to haunt him so many years later.

As he opened a box that was labeled "DANGEROUS: HIGHLY VOLATILE", he groaned and pulled out one of the jars. Instead of containing the dragon bile it was supposed to, the jar clearly held nothing more than dragon scales, which were hardly a suitable substitute. Unfortunately, dragon bile was rare to come across and he wouldn't be able to make another order until spring. Hopefully the jars had simply just been placed in the wrong box and there was someone out there who had received the shipment rather than the dragon scales they were expecting._ 'I'll have to go into Hogsmeade and talk to the apothecary. They must have the dragon bile somewhere.'_

* * *

With only a few hours of sleep, Necia finally slid out of bed and stretched slowly. Her back was more stiff than usual, but that was because she was used to sleeping in a bed of much better quality. Unfortunately, she would have to make due because she would be unable to access much of the money that her mother had left her until she had graduated from Hogwarts, despite the fact that she'd be turning eighteen in a matter of months. Until her graduation, she would be sent what she considered to be an allowance from her hidden account in Gringotts bank in order to keep herself taken care of until she was out of school.

It wasn't that she was spoiled, far from it in fact, but it upset her not to be able to use that money without limits. Didn't her mother trust her? It wasn't like she would go out and buy everything in sight, she had been raised to use at least some sort of budget. Despite the fact that her mother had been richer than sin, they had still lived rather quietly. No big, fancy house or wild parties, nor any servants to work for them. Apparently her mother had turned down the house-elf that her family had offered to her. Necia had grown up cleaning up after herself, which she knew now was a good thing. She was at least fairly independent. The only thing she wasn't used to was being without someone to talk to and confide all her feelings to. Her mother had been more of a friend than anything else, she rarely used her motherly authority because Necia never gave her a reason to.

The thing that Necia had never understood was why she never got to know the rest of her family. She hadn't known any family members other than her own mother, although she'd heard a few things about her father, grandparents, and a cousin that her mother had gone to school with. As far as she knew, the Malfoys were a bad family that turned away anyone who wasn't going to become a dark witch or wizard. Her mother had left her house after she'd finished school and had lost all contact with her family after she became pregnant, although it sounded as though she was the one who had cut off the communication, not them. She'd heard a few stories about the troublemaker that her mother's cousin had been, but this didn't upset her as much as the fact that she'd heard more about him than her own father. All she knew was that her father had been a one night stand that her mother truly regretted, and she'd only found this out by accidentally coming across the Pensieve that had been kept in the basement and seeing an argument that had taken place between her mother and grandmother. She'd hardly heard any of it before her mother had caught her and screamed for her to never look into the Pensieve again.

Sometimes she had wondered if her mother wished she'd never had a child, but they were so close that this thought was soon pushed aside. Necia leaned down and picked up the tear-shaped locket she'd left on the bedside table. Popping it open, she felt the heat of her tears come immediately to her eyes as she looked down into her mother's smiling face. Cassandra Malfoy. What a wonderful woman she'd been. Necia had always loved that name, which meant "prophetess". Her own name meant "fiery" or "passionate", although her mother had admitted she'd only chosen it because it sounded pretty. Not that it bothered her, the name fit her perfectly.

She smiled when she opened the door and saw the basket of chocolates and candies that was sitting on the floor. She was surprised that some other guest hadn't come along and taken them, they had had plenty of opportunity to do so. A chuckle managed to make its way out of her throat as she set the basket down on her bed. She could almost hear her mother's voice saying "What did I tell you about having sweets for breakfast!"

"Don't worry mother, I'll save these for later," she whispered to the locket. She could have sworn she heard a "cuckoo" sound come from the mirror, but she ignored it. _'What does the damn mirror know anyway?'_

* * *

This was ridiculous. Why couldn't the girl just take his word for it that he had ordered dragon bile and not scales? He had been in the apothecary for well over an hour, while the girl behind the counter spoke with every other apothecary in Europe. All were interrelated so that if one didn't have a certain product, you could still order from them anyway and pay a little extra so that they could get it from another apothecary that did. Unfortunately, they didn't let the buyer know which one they had ordered the product from and it seemed that his order had gone wrong from the beginning. Nobody seemed to know where his dragon bile was supposed to have come from, and they had no clue who had ordered the scales.

Now Snape was rubbing his temples and watching the back of the girl's head with a strange desire to use an Engorgement Charm on it. However, that head in the fireplace would be in for a huge shock if his spell missed. He finally walked over and rapped his knuckles against the counter, bringing the girl's attention back to him. She smiled sweetly, but it wasn't fooling him. "I'm sorry for how long this is taking, sir, but it shouldn't be much longer."

"I don't really care, as long as you get it done. I'm going to go get a drink and if this isn't all sorted out by the time I get back, I'm going to take my business elsewhere." The low, cold tone of his voice had its desired effect, the girl seemed to shrink on the spot and finally had to break eye contact. He smiled with the first pleasure he'd had all day, perfectly aware that Dumbledore wouldn't have been pleased to know his first smile of the day had come from scaring a nineteen-year-old girl.

The Three Broomsticks was the most inviting place he'd set foot in all day. It was still midmorning, so it wasn't really crowded other than a group of old witches who sat gossiping at the bar. They glanced his way for a second, but then went back to their chatting as if they hadn't stopped. He listened as they talked about every new person they'd seen come into town lately, and within five minutes he had heard everything from an anorexic vampire to somebody who had apparently tried to transfigure themselves into a thestral long ago and royally screwed it up. Only one of the women had seen death, so she had been the only one to see his right leg and both of his arms. To the others he had looked completely deformed. _'He should be thankful, at least he didn't actually remain looking like one.' _This was when they said that all his visible parts appeared thestral-like, while his invisible parts remained normal. _'Now my life doesn't seem half so bad.'_

Every now and then new customers would come in and quickly order themselves something before leaving again. He occasionally recognized someone, but they rarely took a second glance at him. Not that it bothered him; solitude was his way. More than anything he wished that everyone could just leave the inn now so that he could be completely alone. This was when the old witches' conversation took a more interesting turn.

"Did you see that girl that's staying in the White Charm Inn? I swear she looks too young to be traveling alone. I saw her walk in during the middle of the night when I was looking out my window. What's she doing here at this time of the year?"

"School's starting soon, I expect she's waiting to start. I hope she doesn't leave, there are so few young people around here during the summer."

"That's true, and quite honestly I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful girl in my life. She'll have every boy in school coming after her, if not a few men from this village. Actually, she reminds me slightly of that Sirius Black, with all of her dark hair. She has a bit of that lean build as well."

Severus rolled his eyes as the other witch replied, "It's so sad about what happened to him. Could you imagine being imprisoned and later chased for murders that you didn't commit, only to have the truth come out after you've died? He didn't really get the chance to live as a free man."

What were they talking about? Sirius hadn't just acted like a free man back at school, he acted like he owned everything in sight. Even now Severus had to clench his jaw at the memories.

"Let's not talk about any of that right now, it's just too depressing. What do you think about Bulgaria's chances for the Quidditch World Cup this year? With Moran and Troy taking a year off, Ireland should be out of the picture. They've dominated for so long now, it will be nice to see someone else get some glory. Besides, Krum is the best Seeker in the league."

Severus allowed his attention to wander, no longer interested in their conversation. He had never really liked Quidditch, although he had always been jealous of James Potter's flying skills. The only thing that had gotten him through it had been Cassandra's company.

_"Hurry up, it's already starting," she groaned eagerly, dragging Severus up the stairs into the Slytherin stands. She usually watched the games with him, although when Hufflepuff was playing, she was obligated to remain in her section to cheer them on. _

"It's only Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, why do we need to hurry?" He had absolutely no interest in watching James take the spotlight once again, which he would undoubtedly do. He always made at least ten scores in one game.

Once they had settled themselves down into an empty space, Cassandra immediately pulled out a bag of sweets from Hogsmeade. "I still had some left over, and I figured you could use something sweet." She knew how much he hated to watch Potter show off, but thankfully she was very good at taking his mind off of it. As he started in on the Every Flavor Beans, he heard the Gryffindors burst into hysterical cheers as James dodged all three of Ravenclaw's Chasers and scored while hanging upside-down from his broom, which of course was the best money could afford. It was a Cleansweep One, a great broom from a brand new company. Not many kids could afford it, but naturally it was the only broom that would do for the fantastic James Potter.

"Having a good time?" came the cheerful voice of Lucius Malfoy, who had just returned from hexing most of the Gryffindors from beneath their seats. He had managed to give most of them severe boils on their ankles. Lily Evans could be seen limping painfully across the grounds, her boils the most excruciating of all. He had had particularly good concentration when he hexed her.

Neither Cassandra nor Severus were very pleased to see Lucius. He always followed Severus around in their common room, trying to get answers on his homework and searching for a practice partner for the cruel spells that he had looked up. Cassandra had just never been close to her cousin, who constantly gave her a hard time because she was in Hufflepuff. As if to remind her of her shameful position, Lucius added, "It must be strange to be sitting over here, Cass. Were you afraid I'd be headed to the Hufflepuff stands next?"

She rolled her eyes. "Actually, I came here because you're never over here, you're always off cursing the opposing teams. I hope you hexed the Ravenclaws too, just to be fair."

"I haven't gotten there yet, actually. I thought I'd do that after they managed to score something."

"Unlikely," Severus grumbled bitterly. The Ravenclaw Chasers wouldn't ever get possession of the Quaffle with Potter out there.

Lucius smiled. "Don't look so cheerful, Sev, someone might actually think you have a heart to brighten. By the way, have you finished your Potions essay?"

"What do you think?" he asked irritably. 'As if I wouldn't have already finished that. I got done with it the day it was assigned.'_ Cassandra smiled at the comment and lazily watched James perform a large loop-the-loop in the air before diving in to steal the ball from one of the Ravenclaw Chasers and promptly scoring spectacularly, forcing the Ravenclaw Keeper to dive wildly and fall completely off his broom. Madam Flesley, the referee, caught him before he hit the ground, making the crowd cheer madly at her impressive dive. _

Suddenly, as Severus's eyes wandered downward in an attempt to avoid eye contact with Lucius, who obviously just wanted to copy his essay, he noticed a tiny bit of wood sticking out from underneath his seat. Cautiously peering under the stands, he wasn't surprised to see Sirius Black muttering words under his breath as he aimed at the back of Lucius's left calf. Due to Lucius constantly moving around, he was unable to get a good shot, so he shuffled over to Severus's legs. He carelessly lifted his legs to prop them on the empty seat in front of him, pretending he hadn't seen the intruder in the Slytherin stands.

Cassandra had watched her friend's strange actions curiously, until he meaningfully tipped his head down and slightly to the left, making her turn to look. Sirius was now targeting her, completely unaware that she was watching him. She didn't move a muscle, and as he leaned forward to take good aim, she swung her right leg back and caught him forcefully in the nose. He cried out and stumbled backwards, arms windmilling for a moment until he regained his balance. She glared down at him as he stared furiously back up at her, clamping a hand over his bleeding nose.

"I don't think you need to ask what that was for," she said in a quiet yet deadly tone of voice. He left without a word, leaving Severus and Lucius gaping at her in a mixture of shock and admiration.

The rest of the game passed pleasantly for Severus. Lucius left to hex the Ravenclaws, and with the memory of Sirius's bloody nose, he couldn't even be upset that Gryffindor won the match by a nearly record-breaking margin.

Severus shook his head fiercely. Why was he remembering her again? At least that was a better memory than last night's, but he would still prefer not to think about her. It was depressing to recall how even though she had hated him, Sirius had slept with her before he even got the chance to propose the idea. _'First I have that dream, then my order gets screwed up, and now I'm remembering the last person in the world I want to think about. Could today get any worse?'_

This was when Necia came through the door.

* * *

Necia was immediately aware of eyes on her as she stepped into the Three Broomsticks. She could have just as easily gotten a drink at the White Charm, but the Three Broomsticks was much closer to where she had been shopping. Still, from the automatic watched feeling she was getting right now, she wished she had taken the walk. Her eyes scanned the room swiftly, over Madam Rosmerta and the gossiping witches nearby, to an old wizard in the corner sipping a butterbeer, and finally to the source of the feeling, an older, greasy-haired man by the bar. His dark eyes followed her every movement, but he looked so pale that it was as though he'd seen a ghost. Her stomach lurched uneasily as their eyes connected, and she could have sworn he was looking directly inside her head. It was as though he could read her uncomfortable thoughts as she determinedly headed for the bar. No creepy old man had ever kept her from getting a drink before. Then again, she wasn't really sure if she'd ever had an encounter like this before.

"A butterbeer please," she said groggily to Madam Rosmerta, who glanced at the strange man before grabbing a bottle and handing it to her. Necia was doing her best not to squirm under his gaze, but it finally became too much. "I don't have slime on me somewhere that I can't see, do I?"

Her comment seemed to shock him out of his thoughts, and she couldn't help but think how strange it was that he recovered his composure so quickly. "You looked like someone I knew at first, but the second you opened your mouth the resemblance was gone." His tone of voice was so cold that some anger flared up inside her. He had been staring at her, and had the audacity to be rude when she confronted him about it! Where did he get that nerve from?

"Excuse me? What right do you have to insult me after you've been watching my every move since I walked in the door? If anything, you should be apologizing to me or not saying anything at all."

"Would you rather I go back to staring at you?" The amusement in his eyes only fueled her indignation.

"If you want to continue looking like a creepy old pervert who apparently can't get someone his own age, then be my guest. Of course, if you want to hold onto your last remaining scrap of dignity, then I suggest that you take your wandering eyes elsewhere."

It was at that precise moment when Madam Rosmerta went to the man's empty glass. "Will there be anything else, Professor?"

Necia had to work hard to keep her jaw from dropping. _He_ was going to be one of her professors? _'Well, if that isn't one way to start the school year out with a bang.' _The amusement in his eyes only increased at her reaction to that one little title. "Did you think that a school wouldn't hire a 'creepy old pervert' like myself? From the look on your face, I'm guessing that you're coming to stay at Hogwarts. I truly hope for your sake that you're not enrolled in Advanced Potions."

Oh, this year wasn't going to be good _at all_. "As a matter of fact, I am. It looks like we're going to have a rather interesting year, _Professor_." Now her voice took on a more sarcastic edge. "Just out of curiosity, may I ask what to call you? I may as well start out the year knowing a few names."

"Professor Snape," was the only answer she received.

"Hmm, Snape. Somehow it fits you. I suppose I'll see you in a few days, so I may as well not bother saying goodbye." Without another word, she grabbed her still unopened bottle of butterbeer and left the inn with her head held high. By the time she was out of his line of sight, her knees felt like giving out. She didn't know why, but he had given her the most horrible feeling. If only she knew why.

* * *

Snape watched the girl leave, easily seeing how the old witches could have seen the resemblance between this girl and Sirius, but that wasn't what had caused his reaction to her. He supposed that with his thoughts revolving around Cassandra, it wasn't surprising that he was seeing her face everywhere, but that girl had really taken him by surprise. She looked more like Cassandra than any other woman he had ever met. Although at first he had thought she was nearly identical, many of the similarities faded away as soon as their conversation had started. There were a few-- or more than a few-- likenesses between the two girls, but that could be said of many people who weren't related in any way. Of course, with the way his day had been going so far, he could have seen a bit of Cassandra in anyone, not just that annoying girl who he could tell was going to be plaguing his entire year. Still, the girl seemed to set off warning bells in his head. He wasn't sure why quite yet, but there was something about her that he felt wouldn't be pleasant when he was forced to deal with her again.


	3. Glimmer of Hope

****

Haunted

By Be Boring

****

Chapter 2: Glimmer of Hope

Necia was most certainly _not_ looking forward to her first day of school. She would be surrounded by a bunch of kids that already knew each other like they knew their own families, she wouldn't be able to work at her own pace like she did back when her mother home schooled her, and she'd have to see Professor Snape again. She hadn't been able to get him out of her mind ever since their brief but uncomfortable meeting a few days ago. His dark eyes had seemed to burn a hole through her soul, as though he'd seen inside her and there was something nasty there that he wanted to get rid of. From the drained feeling that he'd left her with, he might have succeeded.

Actually, one of the things that she was the most nervous about was starting the school year under a false name. Shortly after her mother's death, an owl had shown up with a letter from Narcissa Malfoy, the wife of the cousin that her mother had gone to school with. She had said that she felt an obligation to take care of her husband's family. It hadn't taken much to find out that the cousin was Lucius Malfoy, one of the people who had been arrested as a Death Eater over a year ago. At first Necia hadn't even considered taking up this woman's offer, but after hearing that Narcissa would pay the fees to enter her into Hogwarts as a transfer student, and even under a different surname, she changed her mind. Although she knew the reasoning behind Narcissa's eagerness for a name change was to keep the identity of a bastard Malfoy a secret, she couldn't help but be grateful. She didn't want anyone to know who she was any more than Narcissa did.

Instead, her name was going to be Necia Holt. It wasn't a common name in the wizarding world, so she would be brought in as someone with magical Muggle-born parents. Not that it bothered her, she'd heard that Hogwarts held the most Muggle-born students of any wizarding school in the world, so she wouldn't feel too out of place. The thing she found to be the funniest was that she'd be in the same class as Harry Potter, so the school year was bound to be interesting. Voldemort had finally been killed just this past summer, and all that the newspapers would tell the public was that it had happened somewhere in the Department of Mysteries and Harry Potter had been there as well. _Duh, I think most people figured it would come down to something between the Dark Lord and the Boy Who Lived. Anyone who has ever read a mystery novel would come to that conclusion. I'll have to talk to him when I'm at school. _It wasn't that she was going to become some star-struck girl, she actually wanted to know what had happened.

The school loomed up in front of her almost like some monster waiting to swallow her into its dark inner corridors, but instead she started comparing it to a medieval castle. She could almost see Professor Snape leading a line of other dark-robed teachers who were all waiting to take her to the rack, shove her naked into a vat of bubotuber pus, or some other unspeakable torture.

It honestly surprised her when the front doors opened just as she was coming up the stone steps. An old man with a long, snowy beard, twinkling blue eyes, and half-moon glasses greeted her with a serene smile on his face and his arms held wide. She easily recognized him as Albus Dumbledore. "Good morning, I do believe you must be Necia Holt. Let's go to my office and see which house you'll be placed in, shall we?"

"I thought that would happen at the Sorting Ceremony?" Necia commented nervously. In spite of the quiet happiness that seemed to radiate from the old man, she couldn't help but feel incredibly intimidated by him. Similarly to how she felt with Snape, but not in such an invasive way, she sensed that he knew what was going on inside her head. Unlike Snape, however, it seemed that whatever he found to be lying dormant inside her pleased him entirely.

"Normally it would, but I don't wish to embarrass you on your first day at a strange school by setting you up in front of the entire school with a group of eleven-year-olds. Despite what most people think, I _do_ remember what it's like to be young, and I know it wouldn't set off your first day the way it should be. The way I see it, we're going to give you a chance to start out everything just like a normal seventh year would. The rest of the students won't even make it here until the evening. As a matter of fact, it's still a few hours before they have to be at the train station to come here. So I'll tell you the idea I had, and we'll see what you think."

Necia started following him through a confusing mixture of corridors, stairways, and hidden passageways until they ended up in what appeared to be a very commonly used hallway that held a gargoyle statue. Dumbledore stopped directly in front of it and said "_Shrinking Sugarplum,_" before stepping onto the moving staircase that appeared in front of them. At her questioning look, his eyes seemed to twinkle even brighter. "It's a creation some former trouble-making students here came up with. I dare say it's helped them eavesdrop on a few more important matters that they had no business with, but that's never stopped them before." Although the words he said would have sounded disapproving if they had been coming from anyone else's lips, if anything he seemed amused. Apparently the thought of these former students getting into trouble didn't concern him too much. _Then again, from all I've heard about him, I should trust his judgment. If he thinks there's nothing to worry about, then those kids are probably just fine._

Dumbledore's office was certainly a place of wonder. All the little silvery things she saw dazzled her and made it hard to focus, but even when she did manage to get a good look at one of the gadgets, she had no idea what it was. Dumbledore sat down at his desk and gestured for her to seat herself in one of the chairs that was just in front of it. Her face flushed a deep red as she realized that he was watching her reaction to his office with the utmost amusement. _He seems to be entertained easily. How many times have I already seen him with that kind of expression in the last few minutes?_

"Now, I'll share my idea with you before I bring down the Sorting Hat. Since you might feel more comfortable if you met some of the students before they all get to school, I was thinking that perhaps we could send you to a friend of mine in London that lives near the train station. She would make sure that you got on the train on time, and this would give you a chance to talk to some students and maybe have some friends by the time you returned here. How does this sound to you?"

Necia hadn't really expected that, but it did sound like a good idea. Meeting some of the kids before school would make everything so much easier, and maybe she'd be able to tag along with them to her classes until she got her bearings in this huge castle. "I guess that sounds pretty good, but I hope you know I'll be uncomfortable meeting them all whether I meet them on the train or right here. My social skills are right up there with a dog's flying skills."

He chuckled and leaned back in his chair, folding his long fingers together neatly so that he could observe her just over the top of them as he rested his elbows on the armrests of his chair and his hands gently rested against his chin. "There's no need to feel nervous. Unlike other students starting here, you'll already know which house you'll be in, so you'll be able to seek out your roommates. Not that you shouldn't make friends with other house members, I encourage it in fact, but you'll be able to follow your roommates to all your classes. There should be at least one that you share the same electives with." How strange, it was like he was mirroring her thoughts. Suddenly, he climbed to his feet and went to a wall full of shelves just over to her left and reached up to pull down a tattered old hat.

She jumped slightly in her seat when a tear near the brim opened and the hat said, "Hmm, another transfer student. They're so hard to place when their minds have already been set in their ways." Before she could ask why that mattered, the hat added, "I place first years in the house that holds the most potential for them, so they'll grow into an adult with the ideals of that house surrounding them. Students who come in their last few years have already nearly grown into adults, so it hardly matters which house they're placed in because it probably wouldn't make a difference in the way they turn out other than the friends they'll have after they're done with school." She glanced nervously at Dumbledore. Was the hat saying that at this point, she was either doomed or not as far as her life went?

"Don't give it too much thought," Dumbledore whispered to her. "It's all up to you whether you change or not. Now, let's find out where you will be, shall we?"

The hat seemed to fall down over her face without touching the sides of her head, so she was enveloped in almost complete darkness. The hat's voice came quietly into her ear, although she felt certain that somehow Dumbledore knew what it was saying. "Hmm, I remember your mother was a Hufflepuff, wasn't she? She asked me to place her in that house because she wanted to be sure of not going into Slytherin, although I wouldn't have placed her there anyway. She was much more suited for Ravenclaw. You, however, I'm not sure belong in either of those. You're running from something, I'll guess your family, so perhaps Slytherin wouldn't be suitable for you. I guess there's only one choice left. GRYFFINDOR!" The hat's voice said the last word much louder, so there was no mistaking where she would be placed. She felt a rush of relief as she pulled the hat off and the light came back to greet her eyes.

"Gryffindor, hmm? I should have guessed, you look like that's where you belong. Is there anything you'd like to ask me?"

How had he known that she had more questions for him? "Well, could you tell me about the girls I'll be staying with? I'd like to know their names at least, and maybe if I'll have a lot of classes with the other Gryffindors in my year."

With just a wave of his hand, a list of what appeared to be schedules flew to him from one of the many drawers in his desk. He straightened his glasses on his crooked nose and held them up closer to his face, then smiled with a strange look of satisfaction. "Ah, yes, you'll be staying with Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, Gladys Cade, and Hermione Granger. The Gryffindor boys in your year are Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Neville Longbottom, Ronald Weasley, and Harry Potter. From what I can tell, you share all the same classes as most of the others with the exception of Miss Cade and Miss Granger. Pick whomever you like to follow to class, and be sure it's someone you can trust not to let you step through a trick stair. A couple of the gentlemen might find it entertaining, and there's one in particular who wouldn't do it deliberately, but he often forgets where they are himself."

Well, that was a relief. Now she just had to be careful that nobody found out her true surname. For some reason, she just didn't want anyone to know she was a Malfoy. Hell, most of the Malfoys didn't even know they had an extra relative. She was surprised that Narcissa had known. "I guess there's nothing else I really need to know except for how in the world am I supposed to pack, meet this friend of yours from London, and still be on time for the train?" Although she was of age, Necia wasn't allowed to do magic without her mother's supervision just yet. For students who were home schooled, a test was required before they could perform magic without a parent or guardian nearby, and Necia had been just two weeks away from taking it when her mother died. Needless to say, that test had been the furthest thing from her mind and she had skipped it. Now she regretted it.

Now Dumbledore turned, grabbed a handful of Floo Powder from a bowl near the fireplace, and threw it in. "Could I have a word?"

It sounded as though something was moving in the fireplace, whoever it was seemed to be trying to keep from being summoned. "I'm busy right now," a male voice grumbled, sounding as though he was lifting something very heavy.

Dumbledore rolled his eyes and threw in another small handful. "_Now_, Severus. You already agreed to do this little errand for me this morning, and besides, it will do you some good to get out of that dungeon and away from all those potions ingredients. You can finish stocking your shelves later."

'Did he just say what I thought he said?' Necia thought with some panic. A moment later, Snape's dark frame appeared in the fireplace. His eyes landed on her for only a moment, then he dismissed her in his mind and turned back to the headmaster. "What was this errand you wanted me to run? I was just unpacking that shipment of dragon bile that finally came in."

"I'd just like you to help this young lady pack and get her sent on her way to Tonks's home. I've already told Tonks that she might be getting a visitor this morning, and I know she's excited to have some company. Because of her circumstances, she can't use magic on her own, and the only way she'll be on time is if her things are packed magically. Now, I'm sorry to have to leave so soon, but I have some things to get prepared before the Sorting Ceremony tonight." Before either Necia or Snape could say a word, he was out the door and heading down the spiral staircase. They turned and looked at each other as though they'd much rather be scrubbing toilets with their bare hands, but finally turned and grudgingly walked towards the door.

* * *

Why? Of all the things Dumbledore could have done to make him get out of his dungeons, why did it have to be baby-sitting a teenage girl? The only thing that made Snape feel any better was the fact that the girl didn't seem much more happy about the situation than he did. She was shuffling along next to him as they made their way to Hogsmeade, not saying anything out loud but saying volumes with the expressions that ran across her face. She was so easy to read, yet at the same time so difficult. While he could read what was on her face easily enough, Snape got the sense that it wasn't what she was truly feeling. In other words, she was lying with her face. "Are you just going to mope around while we're doing this?" he asked irritably. "If so, maybe I should just do it alone."

"There's no way I'm letting you go near my things without me being there to supervise. Besides, what do you want me to do, talk about the weather?"

"I don't see why not, it's a tried and true method of starting a conversation."

He heard her snort behind him. "If you hadn't noticed, we're already having a conversation, unpleasant though it may be. But, for the sake of humoring my future professor, I must say it looks like it will be a lovely, sunny day." All of this was said in a very flippant, sarcastic manner.

Now he simply had to smirk. It was so strange how she reminded him vaguely of Lucius as a teenager. "Odd, I thought I felt a cold front coming in just now." He just barely caught her startled expression as he picked up the pace and finally headed onto the main street of Hogsmeade. "Where are you staying?"

"The White Charm Inn."

"That's hardly fitting." Before she could snap back, he continued, "I've just realized that you already know who I am, but I have no idea who you are. Would you be so kind as to share your name with me?" His false politeness had the desired effect of making her just barely choke back what he was sure would have been a very negative comeback.

"Necia… Necia Holt." Why had she hesitated? The way the name rolled off her tongue didn't sound natural, it was like she wasn't used to saying it out loud.

"I suppose I won't be confusing you with anyone else then, will I?"

"Probably not." She sounded so unhappy to be near him and speaking to him at all that he held back the pleased smile that threatened to make its way onto his face. They remained silent until they reached the White Charm, and he merely nodded politely to Madam Cassa, who appeared more than a little flustered by the sudden appearance of her lovely young guest with a significantly older man. Necia must have given her a rather disgusted look, judging by the way she blushed and turned away quickly. He didn't give it any thought, he just wanted this all over and done with.

The room was quaint, tiny, and decorated in a manner that he could only describe as cute. It wasn't bad by any means, but he could have laughed at the thought of staying in a place like this for even one night. It looked like it belonged to a little girl. A noise behind him made him turn on his heel, only to see Necia standing with one hand just pulling out of the pocket of her robes. His eyes moved down to the suitcase next to her. Judging by the perfectly rectangular discoloration on the side of it, she must have just ripped off something like a name tag. Why would she do that? Rather than question her about it and make the entire situation even more uncomfortable than it already was, he chose to ignore it and pull out his wand, preparing to start the packing. Although she had completely unpacked her things into the closet and dresser that were in the room, he didn't think that she'd been staying here that long. It was more like she was just trying to give off the impression that she had stayed here for a couple weeks. Still, he started moving things into the open suitcases.

Snape heard Necia seat herself onto the bed behind him, and the bed squeaked loudly enough to let him know that she hadn't been gentle in lowering herself down. He didn't know why it satisfied him so much that she didn't like being around him, but it did. Drawers from the dresser opened one by one as he emptied their contents. Just before he reached the bottom drawer, she jumped to her feet and grabbed his arm. "I'll do that drawer myself," she hissed, moving forward to prevent the drawer from popping open as his wand remained pointed at it. She grabbed the nearest suitcase and turned to glare at him. "Could you turn around, please?"

He sighed and compliantly turned around, hearing the mirror snicker behind him. "No wonder you didn't want him seeing all of those."

"Shut up if you want to keep your surface in one piece," she replied nastily. Snape had to hold back his own snicker, now he almost felt like thanking Dumbledore for making him take Necia to get packed. This was the most fun he'd had all summer, but then again, the summer hadn't been that great. The highlight had been Voldemort's death, which seemed to lift a huge weight from his shoulders. It was more stressful being two-faced than most people knew.

"All right, I'm done. How are you sending me to that Tonks person's house, Floo Powder?"

Snape pulled a tiny case out of his pocket that contained just enough Floo Powder for two trips. They had to make room for mistakes. "As a matter of fact, yes." He handed the case to her and started moving the suitcases in front of the fireplace. "Tonks's home is 118 Hinkle Place, so be careful unless you want to end up in a dark magic shop which is 118 Hinkly Place. You wouldn't believe the number of Tonks's friends that have been disfigured by being sent there. Are you ready?"

Her face had paled slightly at his words, but she nodded. It didn't really matter whether she screwed up the address or not, 118 Hinkly Place was nothing more than a Muggle costume shop that was owned by a wizard who had insisted on having the Floo Network connected to his home. _'Hmm, lying to a student. Dumbledore wouldn't be pleased.'_ He watched as she threw a bit of Floo Powder into the fireplace, shoved her suitcases into the now green flames, stepped in herself, and said clearly, "118 Hinkle Place!" In a whirl of flames, she was gone. Snape reached down and picked up his wand from where he had set it on the bed, then headed for the door. It was back to the dungeons now.

* * *

Necia ended up stepping out into a brilliantly decorated living room, which seemed to be a combination of medieval artifacts and cheerful paintings with bright colors. Although they clashed miserably, the room still seemed to fit together rather well. She carefully stepped out of the fireplace and started dragging her suitcases out onto the very fluffy white carpet, giving her the feeling of walking on fur. Glancing furtively around, she slid off her shoes and started sliding her bare feet through the soft carpeting, holding back a giggle as ticklish shivers ran up her legs. She almost felt like a little kid again, but was startled out of it by the appearance of a young woman with spiky, electric blue hair. The woman laughed.

"I don't blame you for doing that, I do it every day. It's the reason I had that carpet put in, it's so much fun to walk around barefoot. I take it you must be that transfer students from Hogwarts?"

Necia nodded and slid her shoes back on. "Yeah, that's me. I'm Necia Holt."

"Nymphadora Tonks, but please call me Tonks. Nymphadora definitely would not have been my first choice for naming a child. So, have you had breakfast?"

A couple hours later, Necia was feeling completely at ease in Tonks's presence, and now wished that she didn't have to go to school. Why couldn't she just stay here? She still didn't even know what she was studying to be, anyway. Potions had used to interest her, but she had the feeling that was going to be over very soon. How could she possibly enjoy being taught by that strange man? He'd probably fail everything she did anyway.

"What are you thinking about with such a serious face?" Tonks asked as she loaded the suitcases into a Muggle car she had rented so that they could get to the train station without attracting too much attention.

"Nothing, I'm just nervous about starting so late at a strange school. I was home-schooled before, so everything's going to be completely different."

"Yeah, but Hogwarts is a wonderful place to be. Now that there's no more danger to worry about, this year should be a blast. Besides, the meals you get there will more than make up for any bad times. I swear those house elves outdo themselves every year."

Necia quickly learned that Tonks was not used to driving Muggle vehicles, because she wound up sliding low in her seat so she couldn't see the other cars driving straight at them as Tonks continuously crossed into the wrong lane. Even worse was how she felt the need to come speeding up to the traffic lights when they were red, and stop just short of the intersection. By the time they reached the train station, Necia was thanking her lucky stars that she was still all in one piece. Her knees almost buckled as she stepped out of the car, she was forced to grab the door just to stay upright. Tonks, however, didn't seem any worse for the wear. In fact, she seemed as cheery as when Necia had first come out of her fireplace.

"Why do you look so green? You're not still nervous about meeting everybody, are you?"

"Uh, yeah, that's it. I'm just nervous," she stammered, still struggling to stop the world from spinning around her. Although she normally would have insisted on doing it herself, she allowed Tonks to place her suitcases on a trolley and push them into the station. Necia meekly followed along behind, wishing that her mother were still there to continue their life like always, rather than having to go through something this nerve-wracking alone. She knew it was selfish to think something like that, but she couldn't help it. She'd never had to go through anything completely alone before. While common sense was telling her that she wasn't alone, Dumbledore would at least be watching out for her, her heart was still telling her that no one was there for her anymore. It took almost all of her strength to hold back the sudden tears that threatened to come out. It was so odd that she hadn't cried that much since her mother's death. It was more like she felt numb, like nothing had really happened. If she turned and went home right now, Cassandra would be waiting there laughing over yet another botched meal and they would once again be forced to use Adele's Automatic Meals, which weren't bad, but the occasional meal attempt that did succeed was usually a million times better.

Tonks led her into the station, right between platforms nine and ten, then pointed to the barrier between them. "All you have to do is walk straight into that wall. I know it looks solid, but you don't have to worry about giving yourself a concussion, you'll pass right through. I'll be right behind you, but it's better if we go one at a time to keep from attracting too much attention."

Necia just nodded, suddenly so nervous that it felt as though her throat was about to close itself off. She grabbed the trolley so that something would be in her hands, and then started walking briskly towards the barrier. Just before she reached it, she squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for an impact. When she seemed to have gone longer than she should have without crashing, she popped her eyes back open to see a scarlet steam engine directly ahead, surrounded by kids that were either wearing Muggle clothes or different colors of robes, including the black Hogwarts robes. If she had been expecting some strange breed of monsters, she was pleasantly surprised at how normal all the kids looked. Many were laughing and greeting friends that they hadn't seen since last year, while first years wandered around looking as lost as she felt.

"Tonks! What are you doing here? I didn't think there would be a need for an Auror here," came a young woman's voice, sounding thrilled but slightly confused. Necia turned around to see a beautiful teenage girl come running up to Tonks, who had just come through the barrier. She had curly brown hair that was slightly bushy but not quite unruly, and warm brown eyes that showed she definitely knew who Tonks was.

"Oh, Hermione, I was hoping to see you and your friends here. Where are Ron and Harry?"

"Right here," came another cheerful voice, this time coming from a tall, lanky, redheaded boy with freckles scattered across his face. Right behind him was a boy who was shorter than the redhead by about five inches, which probably put him at about five feet and ten inches, also making him not much taller than her. It didn't take much to figure out who he was. Wild black hair, bright green eyes, thick black glasses, and a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt across his forehead quite obviously meant that she was looking at Harry Potter. _I was always under the impression he was ugly, but he's not so bad. Not someone to drool over, but he has plenty of positive aspects._ The redhead startled her out of her thoughts. "I thought all the danger was gone, so why are you here?"

Tonks laughed. "It's not that serious, Ron, I'm just running an errand for Dumbledore." This was when she tipped her head in Necia's direction, so for the first time the trio's eyes landed on her. "This is Necia Holt, a transfer student. She was home schooled until this point, so Dumbledore thought it might be nice for someone to come along and at least see her onto the train safely."

"I'm surprised your parents aren't here, wouldn't they normally see you off?" Hermione asked curiously. Necia hadn't prepared herself for a question like that, but Harry seemed to catch her deer-in-the-headlights expression and stepped forward.

"I think Hermione's being a little rude. We should at least introduce ourselves first. I'm Harry Potter, and these are my best friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. We're in Gryffindor house. Are you going to be placed in a house at the Sorting Ceremony?"

Necia finally found her voice, wishing that it didn't feel like a spotlight was being shone right down on the three-foot square around her body while everything else was wrapped in darkness. "I've already been sorted. Dumbledore wanted it taken care of before school started so that I didn't have anything else to make my first day more uncomfortable. I'm in Gryffindor too. Are you all seventh years?" Although she already knew the answer, she felt it would be polite to ask.

"Yeah, and I'm personally not that excited. Hogwarts has felt more like a home than any other place I've been, and I don't want to have to leave it after this year. I'm sure you'll be pretty happy there." Well, that certainly brightened her spirits. The castle hadn't seemed that cheery when she'd been there, but perhaps it felt homier with all the students milling through the corridors. To her surprise, the trio each leaned down and picked up a few of her bags, leaving her holding only one of her suitcases. "Shall we?" Hermione asked brightly. Necia couldn't help but feel hopeful as she stepped onto the train. Maybe this year wouldn't be so lonely after all.


	4. First Day

**Haunted**

By Be Boring

**Chapter 3: First Day**

With all the laughing students surrounding her, Necia had to calm down a little bit. Everybody seemed to get along so well, she couldn't believe she had ever been nervous. When she commented about this to Hermione, she turned to her with a more serious look on her face than Necia had expected. "You're in Gryffindor, which means you'll get along pretty well with our house and with the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff houses, but you've automatically made an enemy of the Slytherin house. Watch out for them, they can be pretty nasty, especially to new students. I can't ever remember a transfer student coming here for the last six years, so I don't know how they'll treat you. Other than them, you can look forward to a pretty good time."

'The Sorting Hat said that because I was running from my family, Slytherin wouldn't be a good place for me. Do I have family in that house? Am I making enemies of my own relatives?' she thought nervously. Her eyes flashed over the students swarming around her, trying to pick out who was from which house. Since she didn't know much about Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw, the only students she could pick out were the ones from Slytherin. At least, they looked like they should be from that house. Many had looks on their faces that suggested their thoughts of all this weren't pleasant. Suddenly, a pretty redheaded girl came running up to them with an eager smile on her face.

"Hey, you guys. Can I sit with you? Every other compartment is full right now, unless I felt like sitting with Malfoy and his bodyguards." Everybody laughed and easily let her in except for Necia, who was startled by hearing her own last name.

"Who's Malfoy?"

Ron rolled his eyes and pointed down the hallway. "He's the worst git to come into this school since He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but he's more stupid than evil. He's been competing with Harry ever since our first day of school, and the best part is he's been losing most of the time. He can't insult me too much this year though, not since my dad became the Minister of Magic. That's the job his dad was going for the whole time he worked at the Ministry. It's really got to burn when Lucius Malfoy looks at the papers and sees all the news on how great of a job my dad's doing."

Necia was taking all this information in as carefully as she could. She popped her head out of their compartment door and looked down the hall to see a very handsome seventeen-year-old boy with slicked back blonde hair, incredibly blue eyes, and a smirk on his face that looked as though it rarely ever left. She could easily see the resemblance between that boy and her mother, he looked more like Cassandra than she did. So, that kid was her second cousin? If he was the son of a Death Eater, he had to be bad news. "Yeah, he looks like a git. I take it those two thick-bodied guys right next to him are the bodyguards?"

Ron peered out with her and chuckled. "Yeah, that's them. The one on the left is Crabbe, and the one on the right is Goyle. They're strong, but only from the neck down. Everything above the neck is pretty useless as far as they're concerned." Their speculation ended when the three boys stepped into their own compartment. Just before he stepped through, Malfoy paused and glanced in their direction. First he gave a look of disgust that was obviously meant for Ron, then his eyes landed on her. The blue eyes that looked so much like her own connected with hers and became confused. Either he had just realized that he didn't know who she was, or he had seen his own eyes reflected in hers. This was the moment however that Ron chose to pull her back into their compartment.

"What's his whole name?" she asked, feeling dizzy and wishing that she hadn't seen him.

"Draco Malfoy. Fitting, huh? It's as nasty sounding as he is. Don't think about him too much, it'll just ruin your day. Here, we haven't introduced you to Ginny yet." Necia's attention was brought to the redheaded girl that had joined them. "This is my baby sister. Her name's actually Ginevre, but she prefers being called Ginny. It's kind of a baby name in my opinion." She could tell he wasn't being very serious, just trying to get on his sister's nerves.

"It's _not_ a baby's name, I happen to like it," Ginny huffed, her red hair bouncing with her indignation as she glared at him. Then she turned to smile at Necia. "Hi, I guess you just got introduced to me, so who are you?"

Necia somehow automatically liked the other girl, and she smiled back. "I'm Necia Holt. I was home schooled before, so this is my first year in Hogwarts. Are you a seventh year? I don't mean to be rude, but you don't look quite old enough and I really don't think you and Ron are twins."

Ginny didn't seem to be offended at all. In fact, she laughed. "No, I'm a sixth year. If Ron was my twin, I think I would have killed myself years ago."

"I heard that," Ron snapped as he sat down next to Harry and playfully knocked the tiny bag of coins he was holding out of his hands with his elbow. "Oh, gold!" At this, both boys dived to the floor in a desperate attempt to scoop up all the money before the other one did. Their bickering as they grabbed at coins made the other three watch with smiles.

"Are you completely insane? This is _my_ money!"

"You don't need it!"

"Neither do you! Your dad just became the Minister of Magic! You'll have gold flying in by the bushels!"

"Those bushels will be _his_, not mine! Besides, aren't friends supposed to share?"

"Share, perhaps, but not steal!"

On and on the mindless argument went, until finally they both had the money cleaned out and Ron handed his portion back to Harry good-naturedly. Everybody sat down as the train finally started to pull away, then Ron and Hermione went to go to the first two compartments where the prefects were meeting, promising they would be back in a little while. It didn't bother Necia too much, she actually was in the mood for a nap. Ginny said something about wanting to go say hi to a couple of her other friends. Necia couldn't help but think it was a little sad that she was so close to people in the year above her. What would she do next year when they were gone? Pushing that from her mind, she leaned against the side of compartment and closed her eyes, squirming around a little bit to get comfortable. She could vaguely hear some movement, then she felt the seat move as someone sat down next to her.

"I take it you didn't sleep well last night?"

She opened her eyes and looked over at Harry, who had sat down a foot to her left. "I haven't slept well for the past few nights. I guess I was nervous about today. I think I'm feeling a little better now that I have some people to talk to, though."

"I know how you feel. My situation wasn't really the same, but I guess the feeling isn't that different. I hadn't met anyone from here before I started school, and I'd never met a wizard before except for Hagrid. Don't ask, you'll meet him soon enough. I kept thinking that when I went to the Sorting Hat, it would say that there had been a mistake and that I'd have to go back to my aunt and uncle, who aren't the most wonderful people in the world. I was scared out of my mind, but Hogwarts ended up being the most wonderful place I've ever been. Probably my next favorite place is Ron's house, because I feel like I have family then."

Necia felt the tears behind her eyes again as she realized that he had found what she now desperately wanted. Her mother was gone, so she needed some sense of family right now. "You know, I think that's exactly what I needed to hear right now."

He blushed deeply, suddenly refusing to meet her eyes. "That's weird, I'm not really good with inspirational talks. Hey, I don't want to make you feel like I'm putting my nose where it doesn't belong, but I'm kind of curious about what Hermione asked before, but I interrupted because I got the feeling you felt uncomfortable with the question. Why weren't your parents here to see you off?"

Should she really tell him? Well, he _had_ opened up to her in a very touching way just a few moments ago. Why not? "I don't know who my father is, and my mother died last month. She was the one who taught me, so now I have to go to school."

That seemed to take him by surprise. "I'm really sorry for prying, I didn't mean to offend you. I guess I was just curious."

"That's ok, it's not like it's a secret. So, what's with this thing between you and that Draco Malfoy kid? Ron didn't really tell me much."

"You know, I think he started hating me the second I refused to be his friend. Kind of childish, wouldn't you say? Poor guy can't take rejection. For a little while last year I felt sorry for him because I'd been responsible for sending his dad to prison. But he only got nastier, so I stopped feeling bad. I think his mother has been spoiling him even more now that Lucius is gone. He only seems to have gotten worse, and the worst thing is that he's had at least one night with over half the girls in the school. Sometimes it's not even a night, just lunchtime in an empty classroom. Even if I hate him, I've got to admit he knows how to completely overwhelm a girl. Most of them come out of it pretty happy."

'Great, I'm related to a walking dick. Hell, he might have even been checking me out earlier.' "I'll keep that in mind. Do you think he's doing it to prove he's better than you at something?"

"At seducing girls? Hell yeah, he's doing it to prove he's good at something and it's true, he _is_ really good at charming them. That's not my area of expertise. I'm not good at talking to girls."

"That's not the way I see it. You're talking to one right now, and you haven't done anything wrong yet." Somehow her voice sounded strange when she said that, and it hit her suddenly how he could misinterpret that. "Besides, you're friends with a couple girls, you can't be that bad." _'I am **such** an idiot!'_ she thought sadly.

At that moment, a loud crashing sound came from the hallway. Harry jumped to his feet and went to the door, then came back in with a huge grin on his face. "Pansy Parkinson just got cursed by a Ravenclaw girl and it looks like something nasty. I'll be out there for a little while, ok?"

Necia just nodded and leaned back against the wall. Although she could hear the commotion in the hallway, it didn't take long for her to doze off. Suddenly, she was at home with Cassandra, trying to help her make a decent meal. They were laughing and talking about what lessons she would have to learn later in her schooling. Then, all the light in the house went out and the door flew open, revealing Professor Snape's dark form framed by the occasional lightning strike. Necia felt her arm being gripped and all of a sudden her mother was growing distant as Snape pulled her away. She struggled against his strength, but to no avail. Her house disappeared into the distance and then Hogwarts was in front of her, its lighted windows staring down at her like evil eyes awaiting her entrance. "You will never leave this place, I will keep you here," Snape hissed in her ear.

Things seemed to change very rapidly. He kissed her ear gently, then moved his lips down to her neck. The unexpected gentleness brought about an immediate reaction, and she turned towards it. She pressed her lips against his, opening her mouth slightly to allow his tongue entrance. Why was there a wall behind her now? Nevertheless, it was there and he was pressing her feverishly against it, his kisses becoming deeper and more passionate. Her arms circled his neck, and this was when she noticed something wrong. Snape should have felt thicker than this, but he was much more slender. Her eyes popped open curiously, and she was forced to shove the person in front of her away.

She was back in the train compartment, the commotion was still going on in the hallway, but there was someone here with her that she hadn't expected. Draco Malfoy was staring at her, a dark smile playing around his eyes. "Why did you pull away? I know you were enjoying it."

The shock of finding out that she hadn't been really dreaming turned quickly into anger. "What right do you have to come in here and start kissing a sleeping girl? I thought you were someone else, otherwise I never would have done that. Besides, you're…" She had to cut herself off quickly before she said "family." He wasn't supposed to know that.

"I'm sorry, but you looked so wonderful sleeping there that I had to do something," he said sincerely, but she could see straight through him. Even he couldn't keep his eyes from wandering down her body, picking out the ways that her robes clung to her body to accent her figure.

"You have a hand, you could have taken care of any unexpected feelings all on your own." She mentally cheered for how quickly that comeback had come to her mind, she'd never been able to insult someone so readily before.

His eyes flashed angrily. "You're just too proud to admit that you enjoyed it. You wouldn't have turned towards me if you didn't like what I was doing. I got a special feeling about you the moment I saw you. I think it's your eyes, there's something so familiar about them."

Ok, she believed that last sentence because she had felt the same way, but the only difference was that she knew the real reason why she saw that familiarity. It was like looking into her mother's eyes, although now at a second and closer look she could see that his eyes held none of the warmth that her mother's had. They were only lustful and slightly confused. "If you don't go, I swear to God I will scream at the top of my lungs and bring every kid on the train in here."

"Oh, give me break, you don't really want me to leave." With that said, he leaned forward and kissed her again. For some reason, she responded momentarily, but then shoved him off and did something that she'd never done before; she punched him with all her strength. The force behind her fist actually sent him into the opposite wall, and she couldn't help but imagine the black eye he would have later. For a moment she felt bad, but then he lunged at her with the sudden rage of a madman. She kicked him in the stomach before he could reach her, then ran out the door as he doubled over. He was much stronger than her, in a fight he would be sure to win. She had hardly gone ten steps out the door before Hermione was next to her.

"What's wrong? Why did you come running out so fast?" she asked, the concern evident in her eyes.

"Malfoy," she whispered in response, wiping off her mouth with the back of her hand. "He decided to put the moves on me while I was sleeping. He's not going to be happy when he gets out here, I hit him pretty hard."

Suddenly, a group of people appeared behind Hermione. Harry, Ron, Ginny, a short seventh year boy who looked as though he had just recently lost a lot of weight, and a loopy-looking sixth year that had a very dreamy expression on her face, although she was staring fixatedly at the compartment door behind Necia, all showed up almost immediately after Hermione made a simple gesture to call them from the mass around a pair of girls, one of which looked as though she was from Slytherin. Necia looked from one to another, feeling slightly apprehensive.

"Calling in the cavalry now, are we?"

The boy she didn't know crossed his arms as he stared at the compartment door. "You don't know Malfoy very well. When he gets angry, you need a group around you for protection. We're the best of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, so we generally end up keeping him under control."

They were the best of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class? The two people she didn't know looked as though they weren't really the best of anything. Then again, the boy had a hard look in his eyes that showed how much he really disliked Draco. The girl was still a mystery, however. "You guys, I can take care of myself, I think I already gave him a black eye."

At this, Harry and Ron snickered and rushed forward to open the compartment door and rush in. She could just barely hear Ron whisper, "I've really got to see this!" before they disappeared into the compartment. There was a loud and sarcastic "Someone finally smart enough to turn you down, Malfoy?" from Harry and suddenly there was a crash and the three boys came tumbling out into the hallway, fists flying furiously. Draco was by far coming off worst in the fight, seeing as how he was already hurting from her attack earlier. Ron and Harry pulled back and climbed to their feet, brandishing their wands. However, it was the boy she didn't know that snuck his wand out and glanced around peevishly before whispering something under his breath. An instant later, Malfoy's eyes bugged out and his hands started twisting around in his lap, then he jumped to his feet and tore down the hallway towards the end with the bathrooms. Everyone laughed, then Necia turned to the boy.

"What did you do to him?"

The boy smiled hesitantly and replied, "I, uh, hit him with a rash that's going to be pretty uncomfortable for a couple days. Plus no girl is going to want to sleep with him when she sees what's down there right now." Harry and Ron burst into hysterical laughter, closely followed by the rest of the nearby students as they caught on. The boy blushed and smiled at her. "By the way, I'm Neville Longbottom."

"Necia Holt," Necia replied, giggling at the thought of Malfoy trying to sit through a class with that rash irritating him. "Are things usually this interesting around here?"

"It's never been boring," commented a pretty black-haired girl behind her. Necia almost instantly felt jealous, this girl was a natural beauty. Her friend seemed to be rather pretty as well, but she didn't hold a candle to the first girl.

"Well, I'd say not," cracked Ginny. "I was kidnapped by a preserved memory of You-Know-Who in my first year, and things have only gotten wilder from there. I'm thinking that maybe this year will be calmer than most since nobody has to be worried anymore."

_'I wouldn't say that. I've already made an enemy out of one of my teachers, plus I'm going to have to make my way around this giant school while being stalked by my own second cousin. Is that calm?'_ Necia thought bitterly. She didn't let it bother her though, neither Snape nor Draco could get into Gryffindor Tower, so there wouldn't be anything there to upset her. Hopefully.

* * *

Snape had been stalking around more than usual today, wishing that he had something constructive to do. He'd already completely prepared everything for his classes, now the only thing left to do was wait. He both dreaded and looked forward to the arrival of the students. He dreaded it because of how much he hated most of the students, even his own. He just pretended to like his own more because he liked to piss off the other students. Tomorrow was when he'd have to start dealing with stupid excuses for tardiness, ridiculous behavior, and four students he was not going to look forward to seeing: Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, and Necia Holt. The funny thing was that before he'd only hated the thought of three students' arrivals, now it was four. Granger always insisted on being a know-it-all and helping Weasley and Potter cheat through the makings of different potions, while those two did nothing but goof off the entire time, and now he had Ms. Holt to deal with. Other than Harry, he'd never hated someone so automatically before. The difference was that although he knew why he hated Harry, he didn't really know what made him dislike Necia so much. She wasn't any more annoying than the other students, nothing made her stand out other than her beauty, but for some reason just the sight of her made him feel like blowing up.

The reason he was partly looking forward the students' arrival was because they would be a distraction from the monotony of his life. During the summer, every day seemed the same as the last. Eventually they all blended into each other until he couldn't distinguish one from the other. Dumbledore often requested that a house elf bring down his meals so that he didn't accidentally skip one, or ten, which was more likely. It wasn't so much that he didn't want to eat, it was just that he forgot. School ensured that he would eat three meals a day. Also, the antics of the students would keep him busy so that he wasn't left with the emptiness that always seemed to fill him when he was left alone with nothing to think about. He always felt like he was missing something inside that everybody else had. Even the other Death Eaters had been a lot happier than he was, so it didn't seem to have anything to do with good or bad intentions. It was just something that he was lacking. _'Perhaps all the inbreeding to keep some families purebloods has finally taken its toll. I think I've been born without a soul.'_

Even though he didn't really believe that, it seemed to make the most sense. What else could there possibly be that he was missing? Maybe the thing that had left him empty was an absent soul. It often felt like he was incapable of any true emotions other than hate, which he was starting to think was a defense mechanism rather than an actual emotion. Wasn't that the usual description of a soulless being? He almost laughed at himself right then, he was being so depressing that he couldn't believe he was still living.

A knock on the door startled him out of his gloomy little world. "Severus? Why are you taking so long? The Sorting Ceremony has just begun."

'Doesn't Flitwick know how to mind his own business?' he thought grouchily. "I'll be there in a moment," he replied, just barely making his voice loud enough to be heard. Did he really want to go? Well, he may as well. He'd have to see the new students sooner or later.

The Great Hall was filled with students hungrily devouring their food when he entered; he had taken so long that the Sorting Ceremony was already over. He glanced over at the Slytherin table to take in the new faces, then took his place at the teacher's table. Dumbledore cast a curious look in his direction, but he merely ignored it. As he started filling his plate automatically, without really looking at what he was grabbing, he started looking down the tables and picking out the first years. As usual, it was easy to see just by their faces that they were in their rightful houses. The Slytherins always looked like they wanted to make someone explode with their eyes, Hufflepuffs generally had a gentle, kind look on their faces, Ravenclaws usually had an eagle-sharp intelligence in their eyes, and the Gryffindors often had a self-confident appearance, although not always in the beginning. He could remember a time when Longbottom had appeared to be a frightened child whenever his eyes landed on Snape, but now he just brushed him off with a stiff politeness. The fact that he didn't have Snape as a teacher anymore seemed to have given him more confidence.

This was when Snape's eyes landed on the Gryffindor trio, but realized to his horror that they were no longer just a trio. Now Necia was sitting with them, chatting away as though she'd known them all her life. Her eyes flashed up in his direction momentarily and they gazed at each other for a split second, but then she went back to talking to Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger, who she seemed to have made an immediate connection with. _'Great, this year is going to be more than horrible,'_ he thought miserably.


	5. How Bad Can It Get?

**Haunted**

By Be Boring

**Chapter 4: How Bad Can It Get?**

At first Necia felt a rush of panic as she returned to the waking world and didn't recognize her surroundings, then she took a deep breath and closed her eyes again when she remembered that she was at Hogwarts. Hermione, Lavendar, Parvati, and Gladys were in the other beds, and their heavy, peaceful breathing helped her relax again. She couldn't remember much about her mother's death, but she was sure that was what she had been dreaming about. The sight of her mother's face and a feeling of panic were the only things really forthcoming in her mind at the moment. _'Who am I kidding? I know I'm not going to get any more sleep tonight. I might as well go down to the common room by the fire.'_

Fire had always fascinated and calmed her, and she decided that it might be the only thing to make her feel better right now. As soon as her feet hit the cold stone floor, she was even more determined to get down to that fire. There was no movement from any of the other girls as she wrapped a robe around herself and left the room, although she thought she heard something from behind the first years' door. _'They probably are too nervous to sleep, just like me,'_ she thought wistfully, then breathed a sigh of relief when she reached the common room and saw that the fire was still going strongly. She hurried to sit in the most comfortable chair right in front of it, then curled her legs under her body and stared into the flames.

When she had first come into the common room, she had vaguely noted that it was midnight, but the next time she looked at the clock again she realized that it was nearly two o'clock. She had started to lift herself out of the chair when a voice came from the corner. "Leaving so soon?"

Necia jumped and ended up landing back in the chair, looking wildly around for the source of the voice. After a few seconds, Harry rose out of the chair he'd been seated in and held his hands up as if in surrender. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, I just didn't say anything earlier because I didn't want to disturb you. I've never seen anyone so focused on a fire before."

She took a few deep breaths and sat back, laughing a little as she tried to release the sudden stress he had created. "I just like fire, that's all. What are you doing down here? I doubt it's because you're so nervous you can't sleep. If anything, you should be more relaxed than in any other year, right?"

He shrugged, sitting back down and turning his eyes to the fireplace. "You'd think so, but I guess it's just that I'm so used to being afraid of something that I feel uncomfortable _not_ having anything to worry about. I think the most terrifying thing I'll have to deal with this year is Advanced Potions. I absolutely hate Snape."

"Really? I take it he's not popular? I already don't like the guy, and I only met him last week."

Harry chuckled, turning back to her. "Well, he was always enemies with my dad when they were in school, plus my dad saved his life when my godfather pulled a really nasty trick on him. Since my dad died before that debt could be repaid, Snape is really nasty towards me. How did you meet him?"

"The first time was when I ran into him in the Three Broomsticks and I didn't even know he was a teacher, I just didn't like him. We had an argument, then yesterday when I came here and Dumbledore came up with the idea that I should be on the train ride to meet kids before I started school, Snape was the one he assigned to help me pack. Let me tell you, that has to be the most uncomfortable I've ever been in my life. I get the feeling that he automatically didn't like me, but I'm not sure why. I don't think he liked what he saw when he stared at me."

Harry studied her face closely for a moment, then said, "You know, you look a little like my godfather, Sirius. Maybe that's why he didn't like you. Then again, the resemblance isn't that great, you just have similar hair and there's something in your face that makes me think of him."

"Are you talking about Sirius Black? Didn't he die a little over a year ago? I remember that whole ordeal now, he was accused of killing all those Muggles and a wizard sixteen years ago, escaped from Azkaban, died fighting Death Eaters, and then it was announced that he had been innocent the whole time. That was your godfather?"

"Yeah, and we were really close just before he died. I actually saw it happen, so it's taken me a long time to even feel halfway normal. Now the only person left that was close to my dad is Professor Lupin. You'll meet him soon enough, he's the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Before you hear it from anyone else, I may as well tell you that he's a werewolf, but he's the best guy I've ever met after Sirius. In my parents' eyes, he was probably next in line to take care of me anyway." He looked a little unsettled, then said, "As long as we're sharing deep, dark information here, what happened to your mum? Was it an accident, was something wrong…?"

Necia shook her head. "No, Mum was perfectly healthy." She froze for a moment, then tipped her head to the side in frustration. "You know, I honestly don't know what happened. That day is just a haze for me, even though something tells me I was there. Everybody's telling me that it might be dangerous to push it and force my memory to come back before it's ready, but I hate not knowing. To make things worse, people aren't letting me know what happened to her because they're afraid it will make me remember too quickly, but doesn't that immediately make you think that her death was traumatic?"

Harry looked at her with a mix of pity and understanding. "I guess that's what I would assume, but I think everyone is right, you shouldn't force your memory to come back. I don't know much about this kind of thing, but the shock might be too much for you if the memories come back and you find out that it truly was something horrible. I'm not saying that it was, just that you can't hurt yourself over that possibility."

"Yeah, I've been told that no matter how she died, the shock of losing her would have been enough to make me suppress my memories whether it was horrible or not. Still, my gut's telling me that I would have remembered by now if she had died from something like an aneurysm. You know, maybe we should just stop talking about this. It's rather depressing, and I don't want to start my classes with something like this at the back of my mind. This might not exactly be a lighter topic, but at least it's a change of subject. Why are you taking Advanced Potions if you hate Snape so much?"

"I want to be an Auror, and Advanced Potions is a required class. Trust me, it took every last scrap of brain material I have to get what I needed on my Potions O.W.L. It's funny, because I had really been looking forward to not having to see him every week in class, and the only future I see for myself involves him for the remainder of my days in school."

She grinned. "In other words, it sucks."

He laughed and glanced at the clock. "Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. I'm sorry, I wouldn't have started a conversation if I had known it was this late. You'll hardly be able to stay awake in class tomorrow."

"That's okay, I was too nervous to have gotten any sleep anyway. At least I wasn't spending the entire time alone."

Harry stood up and walked with her to the stairway leading up into the girls' dormitories. "I guess this is goodnight then."

She gestured towards the clock. "Actually, it's a little closer to morning, but goodnight." They were silent for a moment, and Necia could have sworn he was about to kiss her, but then he smiled uncomfortably and headed back towards his own stairs. A warm flush crept into her face, and when her head finally hit her pillow, she fell asleep almost immediately.

* * *

Snape had never had such a horrible night's sleep in his life. His entire body was stiff, his head throbbed, and his eyelids felt as though they had cauldrons hanging from them. Once again, he had spent the entire night fitfully dreaming about the last time he saw Cassandra. Why was she on his mind so much lately? All the little details about her were slowly coming back to him; the way she flipped her hair over her shoulder, how she chewed on her lower lip when she was concentrating, and most of all, the way her eyes sparkled whenever he complimented her. She had always known more than anyone else that his compliments were rare treasures, something that couldn't be taken for granted. He was someone that wouldn't just hand them out freely, they truly had to be earned, and she had deserved every last one that she elicited from him.

By the time that Snape finally made his way to the Great Hall, his mind was swarming with confusion as to why he couldn't get Cassandra out of his head. So many years had passed since he had seen her, this was absolutely ridiculous. He wasn't the type to dwell on the past, although he was rather gifted with holding a grudge. Cassandra was just another person who had disappointed him in his life, what should make her the forerunner in his memories? It was a relief to finally hear the eager buzzing in the Great Hall as the students talked about everything that had happened over the summer. Some Slytherins sent a polite nod in his direction, which he returned out of habit but otherwise ignored. He could feel some cold eyes on him from the other tables, and at one point he heard a sixth year whisper, "I'm so happy I don't have _him_ as a teacher this year!" He was half-tempted to take twenty points from Hufflepuff, which was the table where the remark was made from, but was once again reminded of who had once been at that table so many years ago.

"Didn't you sleep well, Severus? You're not your usual, upbeat self," Dumbledore commented jovially, his eyes letting Snape know that his joke was not meant to be cruel.

"Let me have some caffeine, Albus, and I'm sure I'll be more upbeat than you could ever imagine," he replied dryly. The food that was on the table looked less appetizing than ever, but he managed to get some of it down. Even bacon, which he usually enjoyed, held no pleasure for him this morning. Instead, just as he was about to take a bite out of one of the strips on his plate, the four Gryffindors he least wanted to see entered the Great Hall and took their places at the Gryffindor table. They were some of the last students to enter, so in a few more minutes he was forced to go down to the Slytherin table to hand out schedules. It was something of a relief that Draco Malfoy was not in Advanced Potions. Although he had always been one of Snape's favorite students, he was truly hopeless with Potions. He could follow directions well enough, but it all left his head the moment he stepped out of the classroom. His test scores were abysmal, and you couldn't possibly expect him to know what a certain ingredient was used for.

He heard a slight groan come from the Gryffindor table, and a smirk made its way onto his face when he saw that it had come from Necia, Harry, and Ron. Hermione didn't exactly look pleased, but she had some more restraint than the others. He had no doubt their reaction was from finding out that Advanced Potions was their first class of the day. Although he wasn't pleased about it either, he decided that he would enjoy this class in his own way. He would just have to make it fun for himself, even if that wasn't particularly good for his students.

* * *

Necia felt slightly sick as she followed the others down into the dungeons. She was honestly surprised that Ron was taking Advanced Potions, but he was only doing it because he was more interested in being an Auror than anything else, even though she didn't feel that he was suited for it. She was only taking it because she wasn't sure what she wanted to be, but she had always been gifted with Potions. It was one of her mother's favorite subjects to teach, so it had naturally become one of her best classes. She just wished that her mother was still teaching it to her rather than Snape.

"Are you okay?" Harry whispered, seeing the nostalgic expression on her face.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just want this class to be over with. How bad was he last year in this class?"

Before Harry had a chance to answer, Ron did it for him. "Are you kidding? He had only half the students in the class that he had in regular Potions, so he could spend more time insulting each one of us at a time! Not many Slytherins made it in there, so he has practically the entire class against him. It's the worst hour you could possibly spend anywhere."

Necia groaned and desperately wished that the stone floor would just open up beneath her and suck her down into the depths of the earth. "Thanks for the pep talk, I'm feeling so much better now." They all laughed and walked into the classroom, quickly wiping the smiles off their faces as they sat down in pairs; Harry with Ron and Necia with Hermione. There were only around twelve students in the class, and every last one was perfectly silent when Snape entered the room. His dark eyes swept over them, pausing slightly in the direction of their group. A gloomy cloud seemed to have fallen over everyone as they watched Snape shuffling through his papers. He seemed to enjoy taking his time with everything, making them all wait for the horrible silence to be broken.

The first words that were spoken ended up being, "I truly hope for all your sakes that you studied your old notes over the summer, because I intend to find out right now just how much knowledge you have retained from my class. Clear everything off the desks."

Everybody just barely managed to restrain their groans as they set everything out of their way. Necia felt her jaw tense as much as it could as he set a test down in front of her. Her eyes widened as she flipped through it and realized that it was five pages long. _"Who the hell does he think he is? He knew perfectly well that I was home schooled and might not be at the same level as everybody else in here!'_ She shot him a look of pure venom before reading the first question. Suddenly, a slow smile spread over her face as she paged briefly through the test. She knew all of this! In fact, nobody here had probably even learned half of what she had. Her mother had continued to learn about the art of potion making long after she graduated from school, but Necia had never taken that into account. She had always assumed that she was being taught at a similar rate as other kids her own age, but apparently she had been learning things much more advanced than what she should have.

Although she could almost hear everyone else's brains straining to understand and answer what was in front of them, she was finished within a half hour. Holding back a confident smile, she strode up to the main desk and set her test down in front of Snape. He had been flipping casually through the _Daily Prophet_ and looked surprised that someone had come up to him. He picked up her test and flipped through it, his eyebrows raising as he quickly scanned over her answers. "Come with me into my office, Ms. Holt," he said softly, but in a voice that indicated he was suspicious. Necia followed him into his office, ignoring the stares of the other students. As soon as the door had shut behind them, Snape said, "Are you sure you didn't have anything that might have allowed you to cheat on this test, Ms. Holt?"

Necia was startled, then her pride came rushing to the surface. He thought she had been cheating on the test? "No, sir. I just knew all the answers.

His face told her that he didn't believe that for an instant. "Really? I find it hard to believe you knew all the answers on the last page, for they aren't anything that I would ever teach my students. They are for a higher level of students, but I included them on the test to give everyone a scare. In fact, you shouldn't even know anything on the page before that, because it's all material that we will be covering this year. I wasn't planning on actually including this test as part of the grades, but it seems that you would like it to be. How did you know all of this material?"

"You know I was home schooled, and my mother enjoyed anything to do with potions. She took extra classes after she finished school, and I guess she taught me ahead of schedule. Is there a problem with that?"

"Not really, it's just that I'm not quite sure what to do with you now. Obviously it would only be repetitive, boring, and utterly useless to teach you all of this again, but seeing as how it's a class that you are taking and you must receive credit for passing it, the only conclusion I can come to is that you will have to be taught separately from the other students. I will have to start teaching where your mother left off, but since I will have to spend this time working with the other Advanced Potions students, your schooling will have to take place at a time that is more convenient for both of us."

Necia couldn't believe what she was hearing. She would have to learn Potions _alone_ with him? "So what am I going to do during the time I would normally be in this class?"

He shrugged and pulled a form out of his desk. "Well, seeing as how you're in your seventh year, you can take this time as a study period as long as the time is made up later. At the moment, because I'm not sure what I'll be in charge of this year, I don't know what kind of time I'll have in the evenings, so we can't set a definite appointment for each week just yet. Right now, keep coming to classes and I'll give you a more complicated potion to make than the others so you won't grow idle. I'll let you know when I'm available for real lessons."

Necia's stomach felt like someone was juggling it around. "May I go back to class now?"

He stared directly into her eyes, once again giving her the feeling that he was reading her mind very carefully and was rather disgusted with what he was finding. After letting her squirm uncomfortably under his gaze for a little bit, he nodded and tipped his wand at the door, which opened automatically. Grateful to be away from him, she rushed back into the classroom and took her place next to Hermione. She waved off her friend's questioning look and pulled out one of her other textbooks to glance through it. She had Care of Magical Creatures next, and it sounded like it had become a class to look forward to after last year. Apparently Hagrid had started taking advice from Hermione on the animals that not only would be interesting to learn about, but something that they would be able to use in the future even if they didn't plan on a career with magical creatures.

After class, the questions started flowing. "What did he want?" "Are you ok?" "He didn't try to eat you, did he?" At that, everybody froze and turned to look on Ron. He blushed so deeply that Necia could have sworn that his head was on fire. "You guys know what I meant," he mumbled, refusing to make eye contact with her.

"You're all overreacting, and no, he _didn't _try to eat me," she teased, making Ron's face flame up again. "Actually, it turns out that my mother taught me so far ahead of schedule that I won't be able to take the class with everyone else. Unfortunately, that means I'm going to have to take private classes with him once he knows when he'll have available time."

Harry looked absolutely horrified. "You're going to have to sit with him for an hour _alone?_"

She nodded, starting to catch some of his dread. It had already been bad news for her before, but the looks on her friends' faces were starting to make her more nervous by the second. "Yeah, but hopefully not for a while yet. For now I'll still be in the classes with you guys." Everyone finally seemed to catch her discomfort and stopped talking about it, but it wasn't like their minds were allowed to stay on that particularly unpleasant subject. Instead, their attentions were turned to Malfoy.

"What made him decide to take this class this year?" Ron groaned as Malfoy's blonde head glimmered in the distance. "He hates Hagrid, and he does miserably every year. I can't believe his mother would let him stay in one of his worst classes when his entire family probably wants him to work for the Ministry of Magic someday. I don't see that happening since I think he's failing nearly every class."

"The day Malfoy takes part in running this country," Necia said, "is the day that I announce my engagement to him."

"Gross!" was the reaction she received. _'You have no idea,'_ she thought with a quiet chuckle to herself. Not even ten seconds later, she found herself face to face with him. His ice blue eyes burned straight through hers.

"How's that rash doing?" she asked sweetly, tilting her head to the side innocently. She noticed that Madam Pomfrey, the woman who Harry had told her was in charge of the infirmary, seemed to have taken care of his black eye, for it was hardly noticeable.

His lip curled up into a sneer as he stepped so close to her that his breath drowned out all the fresh air around her face. "It cleared up nicely. Would you like to see?"

"Thanks for the invitation, but I left my microscope back in the dungeons." There was a wave of silence as she stepped around him and headed towards where Hermione was standing, then everyone burst out laughing. Necia didn't even have to look back to know that Draco's face was quite a sight to see. Just looking ahead at Harry and Ron told her that. Both boys turned to her as though she was some kind of miracle sent from another world.

"That was brilliant! I don't think I could have done better!" Ron commented with the same awed expression still on his face. "It's just another one of those moments that I'll always have to lock in my mind. There's a few of them involving him getting what he deserves, and this has to be right up at the top along with the ferret incident and the time Hermione slapped him."

Necia turned around and clucked her tongue in mock disapproval at the now grinning girl. "Hermione, I'm shocked at you! For someone to turn from rational, methodical ways to using violence, well, let's just say it blows my mind."

Hermione shot a blameful but joking glare in the direction of the boys. "That's what happens when you stay around these two for too long!"

Now Harry cast a playful look in her direction. "Aw, c'mon. You know that you loved being converted into a bad girl." There was some more chuckling at the look on Hermione's face at being called a bad girl, then Hagrid called the class's attention to himself.

"Well, it's good ter see you all again, and I'm hopin' we'll have a good year since I have some good stuff planned out. Now, can anyone 'ere tell me what Flequorns are, and perhaps how they're bred?"

Both Hermione and Necia put their hands up at the same time, which seemed to be a genuine shock to Hermione. At an urgent nudge from Ron, she lowered her hand and gave Necia the chance to be called on. Hagrid nodded in her direction. "Yes, uh, what's that name now, um, Nessa?"

Everyone laughed and surprisingly, Draco answered. "Her name's _Necia_, Professor." Even the quartet were stunned speechless by this; not only had Malfoy offered something useful about a Gryffindor, but he had also referred to Hagrid as "Professor." Hagrid seemed slightly pleased by this and smiled in the boy's direction, although if anything it just made Malfoy's sneer more concrete, then turned to Necia again.

"Sorry 'bout that. So, do you have the answer, Necia?"

She ignored the feel of Draco's eyes and smiled. "Yes, sir. A Flequorn is a mix between a dragon, a unicorn, and the average Muggle horse. First, a unicorn and horse are crossbred, then milk from the adult offspring is used to nurse baby male and female Black Halshner dragons. When those dragons breed, the result is a Flequorn."

Hagrid looked delighted at the amount she knew about Flequorns. "Yeah, couldn'ta said it better meself. Well, I'm sure you all knew I wouldn't just leave it to tellin' you about 'em, I have to let you see 'em. I only have two females, the males tend to be a little rough. They're not that much bigger than yer average 'orse or unicorn, and from a distance they could be mistaken for a black 'orse, but anyone who gets close 'nough can tell the difference. I'll warn ya 'bout the eyes right now, so listen carefully. If you look too long into their eyes, which are blood red and will nat'rally get yer attention, you might get a little confused. Not much different from havin' a few drinks, ta tell ya the truth, and it can leave ya with a nasty headache. So be careful not to look too long at the eyes, got it?"

Everyone nodded and followed him around behind his hut, them came to a crashing halt. In front of them, tethered to a few thick posts, were two _very_ tall horses. At least, that's what they looked like at first. On second glance, everybody noticed the red eyes and hints of smoke escaping their flared nostrils. Both Flequorns seemed to be in a bad mood, making Necia wonder if Hagrid had simply caught them out of the forest. It was true that they were extremely tall, though not as thick as draft horses, and were coal black in color. When she finally slipped to the front of the group with Hermione to get a closer view, she realized that their coats weren't entirely hair, but included some scales as well. While the back feet looked like normal hooves, the front feet split off to reveal two toes, which looked rather awkward at the bottom of horse legs. Their manes and tails were bushy, giving them an even more wild appearance that made Necia once again wonder about how Hagrid had acquired them. She also had to wonder about why they looked so much like horses when they really didn't have any horse blood in them. As if she sensed her question, Hermione said, "They're amazing, aren't they? Unicorn milk is such a dominating substance, if it wasn't for the regular horse blood mixed with the unicorn, I wonder what we'd be looking at? These are some of the few creatures that are somewhat like a half-blood witch or wizard, and I think they're more proof that having less magical blood in them doesn't make them any less powerful. I'd love to see one of those things put Malfoy into a daze, it would serve him right."

Necia laughed and moved closer so that she was only ten feet away from the nearest Flequorn. It turned to stare at her with those horrible eyes, forcing her to immediately turn away to look at the other one, which was too busy looking at the crowd to make eye contact with her. What Hermione had said was right, these were certainly powerful creatures. She knew that if one of them decided to kill a person nearby, they'd do it. _'Well, I guess I have to give Hagrid some credit, he's definitely good with what everyone else would consider to be monsters.'_

Suddenly, a yelping noise could be heard from the hut. Hagrid immediately started pushing kids back so that they were out of sight of the Flequorns. "Sorry, I'll have ta go in an' check on Fang. Stay here, alright?" He didn't wait for an answer before rushing into the house, leaving everyone standing around without an idea of what to do. This was when Necia heard some snickering. As she turned around, she noticed Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle sneaking back around the side of the hut. Not bothering to alert the trio, she snuck out of the crowd after them. She figured that if she brought along Hermione, she might try and stop the boys from doing anything stupid. What would be the fun in that?

Although it was true that the boys had moved close to the Flequorns, it seemed that Crabbe and Goyle were nervous about actually stepping too close. Necia held a hand against her mouth to stifle her laughter as the thickset pair hurried back to the front of the hut when Draco stepped closer to one of the creatures. Rather than react like most animals would at being trapped with a strange being moving closer, the Flequorn actually took a few steps closer to him and stretched its head in his direction. _'You poor, sad fool,'_ she thought amusedly. Anyone who had heard anything about Flequorns knew that their best trick was to use their hypnotic effect to convince their captor to become distracted so they could escape, so all Necia had to do was lean back against the side of the hut and watch with pleasure as Draco's eyes became locked with the horse-like creature in front of him. It took longer than she had expected it to, but pretty soon he took on a rather glazed, empty look. He broke the eye contact, but didn't seem to be able to focus in on much else. Then, after trying to take a step, he overbalanced and made the mistake of reaching out and grabbing the withers of the Flequorn that had confused him. Without a second thought, Necia rushed forward and crashed into him, forcing him out of the way of the now furious creature. They rolled out of the way of any trampling hooves or claws, then she flopped her head back against the hard ground. "You have some issues, did you know that?"

"Really?" he replied. "I know there's one I'd like to take care of right now." Before she could say anything, he rolled over to pin her beneath him and brought his lips to her neck. As his hand moved down her body, she reached up and sank her fingers into his hair, pulled his head back, and punched him as hard as she could for the second time in twenty-four hours. This time her fist hit a much better target, his nose, and she could have sworn she felt it break. It was at this moment, however, that the enraged squeals of the disturbed Flequorn brought Hagrid and the entire class to the area.

"Necia! What're ya doin'?" Hagrid cried out. Necia realized that this all looked as though she had started it; she was sitting up with her fist still tightly clenched, and Draco was flopped out on his back holding his bleeding nose. _'Ugh, could this day get any worse? First I find out I'll have to take private lessons with Snape, then I get blamed for defending myself when my own family attempts to molest me! Nothing could be worse than this,'_ she thought while just barely restraining a groan. Why were Harry and Ron giving her such warning looks? It didn't take long to find out. Not even a few seconds later, Snape followed the group holding a flask of some steaming liquid.

"Hagrid, if you expect to me to give that dog the anti-venom alone, you'll soon find yourself with a dead pet." Turning to see what everyone was staring at, he smiled slightly at the sight of Necia on the ground, looking as guilty as sin. "Ah, I see there's yet another situation for me to deal with. Professor McGonogall will want to know about this as well." Necia finally released her groan, careful to make it quiet enough so the inquisitive crowd didn't hear it. _'I guess there_ is _something worse.'_


	6. Repercussions

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Haunted

By Be Boring

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Chapter 5: Repercussions

Necia followed Snape silently through the chilly darkness of the dungeons, ignoring the self-satisfied smirks that Draco continued so shoot at her through his heavy nosebleed. Even if she ended up getting a detention, it was worth it just to see the blood on Malfoy's face. Snape finally reached his office door and ushered them both inside. Once he was seated behind his desk, he pushed a box of tissues in Malfoy's direction and sat back with his fingers entwined together. "Mr. Malfoy, tell me what happened."

Necia had to hold herself back from crying out about how unfair that was as Malfoy grinned widely at her from behind his hand, hiding it from Snape. "Well, sir, when Professor Hagrid brought us back to the front so he could check on his dog, I noticed Necia sneaking back to look at the Flequorns. I went after her to stop her, but she became defensive when I told her how dangerous it was. I finally grabbed her arm to stop her from going near them, and that's when she hit me. She must have put too much force into it and overbalanced, because the next time I looked she was on the ground too."

_'How ridiculous,'_ she thought angrily. If she really had been sneaking back to see the Flequorns, he certainly wouldn't have tried to stop her. Spotting the indignation on her face, Snape nodded in her direction. "Your turn. Explain," he prompted in clipped tones.

"It's true that after Professor Hagrid took us to the front of his hut, I went back to the Flequorns, but that's only because I was following Draco and his two friends. Crabbe and Goyle ran back once Draco got too close to them, but he was hypnotized by the Flequorn's gaze and I had to run forward to knock him out of the way before it attacked him. _That's_ why we were on the ground. Then Draco decided to become, er, inappropriate," at this point she shot him a dark glare, "and that's when I hit him."

Snape looked from one to the other, apparently enjoying the glares exchanged between them, then finally stated, "Ms. Holt, you will receive a detention for disregarding direct instructions from your professor, as well as ten points from Gryffindor for your unnecessary violence directed at Mr. Malfoy. Mr. Malfoy, you shall also receive a detention, as you were also disobeying orders from your professor." Before either of them could protest, he said, "I've decided to take neither of your stories into account, instead I'm going to work off what all three of us know to be fact. Both of you directly disobeyed Professor Hagrid, and you hit him." Now Snape's eyes were only on Necia. "Just be grateful I didn't decide to be more harsh."

_'Grateful?'_ Necia thought spitefully. At least Malfoy was going to have a detention too, even though it surprised her. Her guess was that Snape didn't want it to appear to the other teachers that he was favoring his own house, even though everyone knew it already. As long as they didn't have to serve their detentions together, she would be able to handle anything Snape tried to throw in her direction.

As both Draco and Necia tried to slip out the door before Snape could add anything else to their punishment, he raised a hand to stop them both. "Mr. Malfoy, please wait outside the door, we have another topic to discuss. Ms. Holt, stay here for a moment." Necia sighed as she longingly watched Draco step out into the hall and immediately disobey Snape's directions by hurrying off in the direction of the Great Hall, where lunch was certainly being served right now. She turned back to face Snape as he continued. "Perhaps you are unaware of the rules at Hogwarts, but I would have thought that violence would obviously be out of the question. I'll have to inform Professor Dumbledore of your behavior, and I'm sure that I need not warn you that any more incidents like today, and you will be expelled before you can raise your fist again." Necia slowly backed towards the door, getting the sense that he was about to finish. "Anything you'd like to say?" _'Do you have to be so fucking sarcastic?'_

She smiled sweetly and set one foot in the corridor. "Just that I wish I had hit him harder." Before he could give her any further punishment, she set off down the hall at a brisk walk, turning the corner before he could step out of his office. She breathed a deep sigh of relief as she made her way to the Great Hall, thankful that she didn't get lost along the way. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were already seated at the Gryffindor table, so she quickly headed over to them and slid between Harry and Hermione.

Ron leaned forward from across the table eagerly. "Did you break his nose? Wait, important things first. Did you get in much trouble? And did you break his nose?"

Necia laughed and nodded. "I'm pretty sure I broke his nose, but I don't think I'm in too much trouble. Ten points were taken from Gryffindor and I'll have to serve a detention, but I think it was worth it."

Harry looked stunned. "Only ten points? If I had pulled something like that, Snape would have let Filch hang me by my ankles for a few days!" At her confused expression, he explained, "Filch is the school caretaker, and everybody hates him. He wishes Dumbledore would let him bring back the old methods of torturing students as punishment. Then there's his cat, Mrs. Norris. I think they can communicate, because if she spots anyone getting into trouble, Filch finds them and punishes them about two seconds later."

"You know," Hermione commented, "you _did_ get off really easy. Snape takes ten points away just for someone sneezing too loudly in his class, and you punched one of his favorite students. I'm Head Girl, and he took a few points from Gryffindor earlier when he felt I was being too strict with a group of fourth year Slytherins who were hexing people in the hall. I wonder what made him go so easy on you?"

* * *

Snape scowled as he peered out into the hallway and saw that Draco wasn't waiting for him. He wasn't really surprised, but he wished the boy would show him a little more respect. Ever since he had left Potions, he seemed to feel that he didn't owe Snape the same level of respect as he had before. That, however, was only one of the reasons that Snape had decided to give him a detention along with Necia. He also had a deep disgust for sexual attacks of any kind, which he developed after attacking many women himself when he was a devoted Death Eater, and he had no doubt that that was what Draco was doing. He was sure that if the two of them had been completely alone, Malfoy wouldn't have stopped at just being "inappropriate." No, if the boy was anything like his father, he would have had no problem with raping her.

He still didn't know why he had only taken ten points off Gryffindor though, especially when Necia had presented him with such a wonderful opportunity to take away as many points as he wished. It wasn't just the mention of Draco's actions that had held him back; no, he felt he had taken care of that by giving him a detention as well. The only thing he could think of was that she had impressed him earlier with her knowledge of potions. Not many students even cared about it, and not only could he tell that she had an avid interest in it, but she was also so advanced that he was worried he wouldn't know what to do with her by the end of the year. He would have liked to meet her mother, just to see what kind of woman took such an interest in potions and passed it along to her daughter. He didn't remember anyone else enjoying Potions as much as he did when he was in school, even Cassandra seemed to think it was a little odd. Of course, he managed to get her involved whenever he was making a particularly difficult potion and didn't want anyone to know.

Snape shook his head angrily. Why was he thinking about her again? At least he wasn't thinking about that reunion party, that was much more depressing. Suddenly, making him jump and spin around, Dumbledore's voice came through his fire. "I wish to speak with you, Severus."

Wondering what Dumbledore could possibly want, he stepped into the fire and felt himself spinning wildly until he was suddenly staring at Dumbledore's twinkling, gadget-filled office. "What did you wish to talk about, Albus?" he asked, trying to hold back his own curiosity.

To his surprise, Dumbledore turned around with a very grave expression on his face. "I realize that you thought your time as a spy was over, it's what we all thought, but something new has come up that I think you may have to deal with."

His stomach dropped uncomfortably until he was sure it was sitting somewhere around his heels. That was the last thing he wanted to hear, especially so soon after Voldemort had been destroyed. "Is it the Death Eaters? Or did _he_…."

Albus raised a hand to stop him before he could even finish the question. "Yes, to your first question, but no to the second. There has been some unusual activity within the remaining Death Eaters. For one thing, it appears that Lucius Malfoy is now leading the group, but I don't think they are planning revenge for Voldemort's defeat just yet. I don't think their current activities have anything to do with Voldemort. About a month ago, they attacked a small home just south of London, where they killed a woman and left her daughter orphaned. We happen to have that daughter in our school right now."

Why did everything in his life seem to revolve around that girl lately? "Are you talking about Necia Holt?"

Dumbledore nodded. "I don't know what led Lucius to attack that particular home, because I don't ever remember the name of Holt being involved in the battle against Voldemort. Perhaps it was something personal, but nevertheless, I'm worried he will come after Necia next. I don't think he meant for her to get out of that house."

"Have you asked her? Maybe she knows what Lucius was after."

Now Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "Necia has no memory of the time her mother was killed. I'm not sure she even knows she was there when it happened. This means that she has no idea what kind of danger she's in, and right now I don't think it's a good idea to tell her. She is having a hard enough time as it is, without telling her that a Death Eater is after her. I would like to know what Lucius wants though, which, as I'm sure you've guessed, is where you come in. Do you know where he would be?"

"I'm sure Narcissa is hiding him in the Malfoy mansion somewhere, that place has many more hiding spots than you are aware of. Do you want me to start out today?"

"Do you have any classes left today?"

"No, all my classes were in the morning." Snape couldn't believe his spy work wasn't done yet. Hadn't he done enough in the last fifteen years? Living a lie took its toll on a man, and he simply wasn't sure he could do much more. He threw a handful of Floo Powder into the fireplace and stepped into the vivid green flames. "Malfoy Manor!" he announced clearly. No more than ten seconds later, he was stepping out of the Malfoys' fireplace, dusting soot off his robes. He looked up as Narcissa rushed into the room, gripping her wand tightly in her hand.

"Severus!" she exclaimed, holding a hand up against her throat as though he had severely frightened her. He knew her too well though, it was all an act.

"Is your husband here? I have something I need to speak with him about immediately."

Taking in his determined appearance, she nodded and motioned for him to follow her. As he was led through the vast hallways of Malfoy Manor, Snape noted with some pleasure that many paler, rectangular areas on the walls stood out from the rest of the hallway, easily giving away the fact that an expensive painting had once covered them. The Malfoys had been forced to get rid of a lot of things ever since Lucius lost his job at the Ministry. As Snape wondered why Narcissa had sold some paintings and not others that looked like they were worth more, his question was answered as she reached up and poked the eye of a Muggle surrounded by wizards with their wands pointed at him. _'Why wouldn't that have made the Ministry ask questions sooner?'_ he wondered quizzically. It was a dead giveaway.

After the Muggle uttered a yelp of pain, the painting swung open to reveal a very steep stone staircase, looking as though it plunged down without ever ending. "He's down there," Narcissa said, pointing at the darkness below.

He started to slowly make his way down the stairs, hoping that this wasn't some sort of trap. Several minutes passed by and his legs were starting to burn fiercely when he finally reached the bottom and was immediately faced with a large steel door. He didn't even hesitate, he knocked on the door and called, "Lucius, it's Severus, open the door."

He heard a soft murmur uttered from the other side, some sparks shot out the sides of the door, and it was swung open, forcing Snape to take a step backwards. Lucius was lying on his back on a rather luxurious bed, surrounded by furniture that could have taken care of all the needy in Europe. It was obvious he was meant to stay here for a long time, otherwise it wouldn't have been so lavishly decorated. Snape walked in and seated himself on a velvety sofa that automatically warmed beneath him. Lucius didn't look at him, but finally asked, "Why are you here?"

"I'm worried about your actions lately. Dumbledore knows you attacked a household just south of London and killed a woman there, leaving her daughter orphaned. What was the point, and why didn't you kill the girl?"

Lucius sat up, giving him a strange look that he couldn't read. "Don't you know who that girl is? Or her mother?"

Snape could only stare back blankly. "No, should I?"

He could tell he'd said something that surprised the other man. "The mother was a pain in my side that I knew I would have to get rid of. She's been helping Dumbledore and the Ministry even without their knowing it. For as long as we've been Death Eaters, she has been disrupting Voldemort's plans. Do you remember when we were supposed to poison Alastor Moody? She gave him the antidote when we left, just before the poison would have killed him. I don't even know how she knew we were there, and the antidote is just as difficult to make as the poison itself, which took you three months. She must have had a wonderful gift with potions."

"Her daughter does as well. She's at Hogwarts at the moment." He knew Dumbledore wouldn't be happy about that, but it wasn't like they wouldn't find out. Draco was having enough encounters with Necia that it wouldn't be long before he wrote a letter home revealing that she was at Hogwarts.

"I already knew that."

Snape decided not to even ask. He doubted Draco would have written home so quickly to complain. He decided to start getting some questions for Dumbledore answered. "Why didn't you kill the girl? With her talent, she could become just as dangerous for you as her mother."

Lucius shrugged. "Possibly, but we also could have made her join us. I put a rather powerful Memory Charm on her so that she wouldn't remember the details of her mother's death, but I may have been overexcited, because I sent her straight into some sort of daze. I doubt she remembers me at all, she may not even remember anything for weeks after that. I know she was sent to St. Mungo's when a neighbor found her wandering around her house. She probably walked past her mother's body several times and will never remember it. That's good though, because that means if I ever get my hands on her again, I'll still have a chance of getting her to help us. I realize you're one of the best potion-makers in this country, but you have other responsibilities that you can't get away from without appearing suspicious. This girl could do her mother's work, but for me instead."

"It would be difficult to convince anyone to join you, Lucius. You're a far cry from the Dark Lord, and even I don't believe you could do half the things he did. I'm here as a concerned friend right now, but unless you figure out how to make the Dark Mark burn, I won't be helping you the way I used to."

Lucius's blue-gray eyes burned angrily, but he didn't respond. They sat quietly for a while, then Snape climbed to his feet. It was definitely time to go, and he doubted that he would be welcomed back.

* * *

When Necia's first day was over, she couldn't help but be excited. With the exception of the time she had spent with Snape and Malfoy, she had enjoyed her day quite a bit and was looking forward to the school year. Sure, she wasn't firmly locked into her friendship with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but she felt that she was on her way. The only thing that could have made this day better was if her mother could be here, or at least at home. She could write a letter explaining her entire first day, filled with the ups and downs, and expect a letter back the next day with her mother's witty and comforting comments. But no, she would never get that simple comfort of her mother's wise words again.

She settled down in a seat by the fire as the other kids started filing up to bed. After several minutes, she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up into Harry's concerned face. "Are you okay? You look a little sad."

She forced a smile to erase the worried expression on his face. "I'm fine, I was just thinking about Mum. I'll be going up to bed in a minute."

To her surprise, he gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Don't stay up as late as you did last night, or you'll never make it the rest of the week." With another squeeze to her shoulder, he turned and headed up the stairway to the boys' dormitories. Necia turned and stared back into the fire, now with a natural smile on her face. Maybe she wouldn't have to be lonely here for long.

* * *

Author's Note: I'm not someone who puts a lot of emphasis on reviews because I know I read quite a bit and if I'm in a hurry, I don't leave a review, but it's hard to spend time on a story without any feedback at all. I've already finished this story, I actually wrote it a while ago and just decided to get it off my computer, but if no one's reading at all then I don't see any point in continuing to post it. I'll just throw the whole thing onto my website and erase it from this one. I'm not asking for a huge novel of a review, just something to let me know that at least one person out there is reading this.


	7. Settling In

Author's Note: Yes, I have a hit count, but you just proved why it doesn't do much good. You read the story, had an opinion about it, but had I not asked, I doubt I would have heard it. The hit count tells me that at least someone looked at a particular page, whether or not they actually finished reading it, but I can't look at that number and tell what the reader was thinking. And yes, I know Snape's reaction was far from realistic, but the problem with his personality is that if I was to give him time to change to the point I need him to by the end of the story, we'd be dealing with fifty long, repetitive chapters of slowly diminishing hostility. As fun as that could be because I love an angry Snape, I don't think I'd be able to find the time for it. As it is I barely have time to do any writing, and this is a long story all on its own.

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Haunted

By Be Boring

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Chapter 6: Settling In

Three weeks had passed since that eventful first day of school, and Necia felt that she had settled nicely into Hogwarts. Her friendship with the trio appeared to be completely solid now, and she had even become good friends with Ginny, who was far more mature than the other girls she shared a room with. It seemed to be a great relief for her to come in and talk to Necia and Hermione without having to worry about immature remarks that she said the other girls constantly made. Apparently she was teased for her friendship with the infamous Harry Potter. "It's all completely ridiculous," Ginny had remarked to Necia when she first shared her roommate problems with her. "It's only because I'm friends with Hermione that I'm even around Harry. He has never paid any attention to me. I don't think you could even consider us to be friends." In the end, it just meant that Ginny was forced to hang around with her brother's friends because the kids her own age were thicker than Hogwarts' walls. In fact, Necia considered herself to be closer to Ginny than she was to Hermione. The Head Girl was simply too focused on her schoolwork to be a good friend to another girl. She was sufficient enough for a pair of boys, but she lacked the sensitivity needed to be the kind of friend that Necia was looking for. Ginny filled in whatever Hermione couldn't provide, so between the two girls Necia was pretty satisfied.

Harry and Ron turned out to be more entertainment than she could have ever expected. Although she wasn't given the same potions that the rest of the students were, she still kept her seat near the others in Advanced Potions, and she learned quickly that Ron could do a very accurate impression of Snape. Whenever Snape's back was turned, Ron would put the coldest, most superior expression that he could manage on his face and lean over Harry's cauldron, clucking his tongue softly in disapproval every time Harry made a move. Occasionally he would whip his robes around dramatically, but that was only when Snape left the room, which was extremely rare. Necia hated the feeling that he was always staring at her; she was absolutely dreading the day that she would have to start private lessons with him. Thankfully so far he hadn't mentioned anything to her. She suspected that he was putting it off, which didn't bother her in the least.

Her other classes proved to be far more pleasurable. Despite sharing Transfiguration and Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins, she really enjoyed all of her other classes. Of course, she wasn't nearly as skilled in the others areas of magic as she was with potions, for some reason Charms was especially challenging for her, but she liked the teachers several times better. None of them compared to her mother, but she would never expect them to. McGonogall was rather strict, and Trelawney couldn't have been phonier, but Flitwick was a very friendly little wizard, and Hagrid was kinder to her than she could have ever expected. She knew that it was largely due to her friendship with the trio, but Harry had shared with him the reason why she had transferred to Hogwarts, and now he seemed to have an extreme soft spot for her.

As Necia stared blankly at her star chart and flipped through _Unfogging the Future_, struggling to figure out whether the certain angle between Mars and Jupiter meant that she was going to die at an early age or win a great deal of money soon, Ron leaned over her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Don't hurt your head trying to figure that stuff out. Just do what we do."

She sat back, letting the book close itself with a heavy _thud_. "And what is it that you do?"

Harry sat down across the table from her and pulled out a roll of parchment. "We make tragic things up off the top of our heads. I'm sure you've heard the predictions she's been making in class. Have you heard her say anything positive? She seems to believe that all of us are doomed to live miserable lives. You should have been around third year, she was absolutely unbearable then. For some reason she seems thrilled every time we turn in a paper predicting how our lives are going to be royally messed up. We've learned that we can reuse things that we've put down before, as long as it's not on the same assignment, because she doesn't seem to pay any attention. As long as it's gloomy and depressing, she's happy."

"Alright, I guess I could lose some important object next Monday," Necia commented, glancing at the clock on the wall and scribbling it down quickly. She had barely gotten a start on this because of how much time she had spent on her Charms essay, and it was already getting late. If it hadn't been for Hermione giving her a few suggestions as to where to look to find the information she needed, she'd probably still be working on her essay.

"Maybe I'll lose a limb," Ron said thoughtfully. "Then I'll get an infection and be in the infirmary for a few days."

"_Honestly_," Hermione muttered from her chair next to Necia. "Madam Pomfrey would be able to fix that in no time. You wouldn't even miss an entire class."

Ron rolled his eyes. "I think you're missing the point. All Trelawney cares about is that my month will be filled with doom and gloom. She's not going to care whether it makes sense or not."

"That's only because the woman has less common sense than Cornelius Fudge did. If she had even half as much intelligence as the average witch or wizard, she would have caught onto this ridiculous trick of yours and Harry's by now. And you're even pulling Necia into it! Sometimes I can't believe you made it to your seventh year."

When she stood up and stalked off to the girls' dormitories, Necia looked around at the faces around her, all of which were smirking except for Ron. Ginny, Harry, and Neville looked like they knew a great deal more about what was going on than she did. Ron finished his paper surprisingly fast, and then made some quiet comment about being tired and headed for the boys' staircase. Without delay, Necia burst out, "What just happened here? Is there something I don't know about?"

Ginny leaned forward, smiling as she started to explain. "Ron and Hermione have been doing this for a few years now. They'll seem like normal friends for a while, then they'll just start fighting over the smallest thing. It became a lot more noticeable last year. They would never admit it, but they care for each other as more than friends. Don't worry, everything will be back to normal in the morning. It always is."

Although she wasn't quite finished, Necia rolled up her parchment and shoved her things into her bag. "Either way, they've got the right idea. I'm going to bed. I'll find some way to sneak in finishing this stupid thing tomorrow." She made her way slowly up the stairs, pausing halfway up as it occurred to her that Hermione was probably wide awake and wanting to talk to her, if only to complain and get things off her chest. _'Oh well, I already said goodnight to everyone else,'_ she thought dejectedly. To her relief, Hermione was laying in her bed, pretending to be sound asleep. Necia quickly changed and lay down on her bed as well, wondering if she should try to talk to Hermione right now. Their conversation wouldn't be private, Lavender was sleeping already but she could very well wake up and eavesdrop. As she was debating it, her mind steadily grew foggier until she rolled over and dozed off. _'I'm sure it can wait until morning,'_ she thought groggily.

* * *

Snape yawned and twisted his back a little to get some of the stiffness out of it. A first year with a weak stomach had vomited in his last class, so he was keeping himself firmly locked in his office until Filch finished cleaning it up. While the older man was usually his ally when the need arose, Severus didn't really enjoy spending more time around him than was absolutely necessary. He was currently flipping through odd papers on his desk, including notices about the upcoming Quidditch season and Madam Hooch's suggested times for each team to practice. Snape usually listened to her, and he didn't bother attending any extra practices that he called for in order to interfere with the other teams' practices, which meant that now he knew when he would be available in the evenings. He frowned as he looked over the notice. Now he didn't have an excuse to delay starting his private lessons with Necia. _'Why did I even suggest them in the first place? I always could have just kept going as I was and never mentioned the idea to her, then nobody would have been the wiser. How could I have done something so stupid?'_ Well, now that he had said it, he didn't see any particular reason not to do it. He thoroughly enjoyed taking opportunities to make his students' lives miserable, and Necia was very close to the top of his list. Something about her just sparked off everything inside him that was angry and spiteful. At least he knew why he didn't like Potter. Ms. Holt was just a mystery for now.

Suddenly, Dumbledore's voice rumbled through the fireplace. "I would like to speak with you for a moment, Severus."

Snape obligingly stood up and walked over to the fireplace, stepping into the swirling green flames and closing his eyes to avoid the soot as he was transported to Dumbledore's office. He dusted off his shoulders as he stepped into the whirring, twinkling office. Dumbledore was standing behind his desk, stroking Fawkes and studying one of his many instruments. "What did you to wish to speak to me about, Headmaster?" he asked sulkily. The old wizard had a look on his face that Snape knew all too well; Dumbledore was going to tell him something that he wasn't going to like.

"A couple things," Dumbledore replied quietly. "I'll start with the lighter topic first. I've heard that young Ms. Holt is very talented in the potions area, perhaps too talented for the class in which she is currently enrolled." Snape opened his mouth to ask how Dumbledore had found out, seeing as how Snape hadn't shared that with him yet, but Dumbledore held up a hand to silence him. "I have my ways of finding these things out, as you well know, Severus. I know it was already what you had decided, but I want to make sure you carry out your plans to give her private lessons. You already told me that Lucius wants her. If she's that gifted already, then perhaps she could be just as useful for us one day. It's her decision, of course, but I would hope that she would decide to help us. A skilled potion-maker is always a good thing to have on your side. Things may not be as dangerous for us now that Voldemort is gone, but the remaining Death Eaters have nothing to lose anymore now that they've been exposed, which makes them extremely dangerous in their own right. I wouldn't mind having more numbers on our side, would you?"

Snape nodded, even though he didn't like knowing that now he had no choice but to tutor Necia. "What else did you want to talk to me about?"

"Lucius. Mundungus says that several robed figures left the Malfoy mansion last night, and he believes Lucius was with them. Apparently the Death Eaters decided to bring him out of hiding. Narcissa is still there, Mundungus could see her walking around, but he's sure that Lucius is no longer there. Six robed figures went into the house, seven came out. That's good enough for me. Besides," he tilted his head slightly towards the instrument he had been examining, "I have other sources that warn me about what could be coming."

"What can I do? I can narrow down where they are, but after my last conversation with Lucius, I doubt any of them will want to see me again. I don't know how much help I can be."

"All I need is for you to tell me where we might be able to find them so the Order can continue to keep an eye on them. We only want to watch them for now, we don't want to take any action until we believe they are going to do something."

"I'm sure they're staying at some property owned by the Malfoys. Lucius inherited several estates from his parents when they died, not to mention the ones he bought himself. If he were just looking to get as far away from his enemies as possible, then I would guess he'd be in Greece. His father bought a well-hidden mansion in Athina for Voldemort to hide in while he was performing experiments on himself. It was while he stayed there that his appearance changed so drastically."

"But what if Lucius is still interested in taking Ms. Holt?"

Snape couldn't see how that was possible. Lucius wasn't a stupid man, he would realize that he didn't stand a chance of getting the girl while she was at Hogwarts. "What would make you think that?"

Dumbledore's eyes drifted back towards the instrument again. "I have my reasons. So, where would he stay?"

"He has a small house a few miles from Hogsmeade that no one knows about. The only problem is that I know he's added several hiding places to the property, and I'm not sure where they are. It might not be safe for anyone to search for them, because I'm sure he has his own methods of surveillance. What would you do if he really is staying there?"

"We'll simply have to keep an eye on the house from a distance. I don't think he'll make a move for a while. There's nothing he can do right now."

* * *

"You guys, I really don't want to do this," Necia grumbled, dragging her feet to slow everyone down as much as possible as Harry and Ron tried to tow her with them to the Quidditch field. "You're making a really big mistake here."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Are you kidding? You have more than enough attitude to be on the Quidditch team, and we really need a new Chaser. At least try out, is that really such a big deal?"

Necia finally just stopped in her tracks and crossed her arms stubbornly. "I can't play Quidditch. An attitude doesn't make me athletic. I have no interest in going out there and embarrassing myself." Even worse, Hermione was still in a bad mood this morning, so when Ron and Harry had come up with the idea to have Necia try out for the position of Chaser, she had absolutely refused to come along. At least Ginny would be there, but that wouldn't make her feel any better.

Harry stopped and turned back to look at her. "What makes you think you'll embarrass yourself?"

Necia looked back and forth helplessly between the two boys, both of whom were staring at her impatiently. She really didn't want to say this. "I, uh," she started out slowly, "I've never been on a broom before." She didn't think their eyes could get any bigger if they tried. "Don't look at me like that, my mother just wasn't that interested in flying and never got around to teaching me. Now you know why I don't want to go out there. I'd probably fall off, if I even managed to get off the ground. I don't mind watching the tryouts with you, but I'm not going to fly. Is that understood?"

The boys looked at each other, then they both nodded. "Yeah," Harry replied, obviously disappointed. "I guess you've got a point. Besides, I think the Slytherin team will be watching our tryouts. The last thing we want is for you to fall off in front of Malfoy. You'd never hear the end of it."

Draco would be there? Now she was really relieved that they weren't going to make her get on a broom. She didn't want to make a fool out of herself in front of anybody, much less the Slytherins. With the comfort of knowing that her feet were going to remain firmly planted on the ground, she followed Harry and Ron to the Quidditch field, glancing at the stands to see who else was watching. The Gryffindor team was down on the field with the kids apparently planning to try out, while their friends sat up in the stands for moral support, glancing over occasionally with distaste at the Slytherin team, all of whom were shouting out random insults at everyone below them. Necia rolled her eyes and headed up into the stands, sitting next to some excited fourth years who were cheering for their friend. Soon all of the kids were in the air, practicing shooting through the goal posts. Some of them were absolutely pitiful. What made it worse was that she knew they were probably several times better than she was. Her eyes were following a second year girl, easily the youngest on the field, who actually seemed to be doing pretty good, when Draco walked over and sat down next to her.

"I'm surprised you aren't out there showing off," he drawled, leaning back in his seat and letting his right ankle rest on his left knee. "That's what everyone in Potter's group does. The Weasleys and Potter are on the Quidditch team and Granger is the smartest out of the seventh years, so what's your talent? Potter must have brought you into the fold for a reason. He has a reputation to uphold, you know."

Necia rolled her eyes. "Harry doesn't need to work on keeping his reputation, he's been famous almost since he was born. People didn't start noticing you until your father was arrested."

Draco glared at her coldly, a flush of color rising in his cheeks. "Maybe Potter decided to let you join his little group for private reasons. Perhaps your talents are better shown behind closed doors."

Now they were both glaring at each other furiously. It wasn't that Necia was surprised that Draco would say something that cutting, it was just that she didn't like it being said where others could hear it too. Already the fourth years around them were curiously glancing in their direction. "I don't need to coerce people into liking me, and I certainly don't need to use sexual favors. That's _your_ area." Angrily, she rose to her feet and stalked away, furious that she hadn't been able to come up with a better retort. Draco rarely ran out of insults, and it was extremely frustrating to be tested against him in public. In that playing field, she would lose.

Just as she reached the edge of the field, Harry came jogging up to her. "Look, I know you said you didn't want to fly, but did you just mean on your own, or would you think about trying it with a partner?" The hopeful look on his face as he spoke finally brought a light smile to her face and she looked over at his broom.

"Is that an invitation?"

He followed her gaze and smiled in return. "Just a suggestion."

Moments later, Necia gasped as the broom tore away from the ground, forcing her stomach down to her general thigh region. Harry let out a long, loud whoop of exhilaration as he aimed the Firebolt nearly straight up in the air, leaving the other students as merely specks on the ground beneath them. Necia squeezed her eyes tightly shut as she clutched Harry's middle against her frantically. It was official, flying was _not_ the thing for her.

When Harry finally leveled the broom out so that they could talk, he discovered that his passenger was in no mood to open her mouth for any reason, for fear of the frenzied scream inside of her bursting out. He smiled at the sheer white color of her face and slowly started to descend again, making sure that the landing was as gentle as possible.

"So, am I to assume that you're not going to reconsider trying out for the team?" he smiled sheepishly back at her. It had never occurred to him that she wouldn't enjoy flying, and he felt bad about pressuring her into it.

She managed a shaky smile back at him. "That's a pretty safe bet," she replied, sighing and letting her head fall against his shoulder in the relief of being back on solid ground.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone quickly walking away, only noticing the bright flash of red as they left. _'Ginny?'_ she thought curiously. Why was she leaving? Wasn't she supposed to be helping rate the tryouts? She gratefully slid off of Harry's broom and, with a quick excuse that she wasn't feeling well now, took off after her friend. She finally found Ginny sitting behind one of the dressing rooms, fiddling with her hair and staring blankly off into space. Necia lowered herself down to sit cross-legged next to her.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly, trying not to let her voice carry too far. Slytherins that weren't even on the Quidditch team were all over the damn place, hoping to get a good idea of what the new Gryffindor recruits were capable of.

Ginny looked up innocently. "Wrong? Nothing, I just felt like being on my own for a little bit."

Suddenly, a very surprising thought occurred to Necia. "Were you upset because I took that broom ride with Harry?"

Ginny looked startled at the comment. Necia didn't know about her lifetime crush on the famous Boy Who Lived. The blush on her face revealed everything perfectly without a word being spoken, but she felt it necessary to add something anyway. "I've liked Harry for a long time, and last year I thought there was a chance of him being interested in me, but it looks like he's not interested after all."

Necia looked uncomfortably down at her hands. She couldn't deny that she had been entertaining some thoughts of a stronger relationship between herself and Harry, but had she known that Ginny cared so much about him, which was apparent by the forlorn look on her face, she would never have made any designs on him. "You know, it's not like anything has happened, and as much as I like him, I think Harry and I are better suited as friends," she whispered, suspiciously eyeing two Slytherins peeking around the corner. At least they were too far away to hear.

Ginny looked up hopefully. "Do you really think so?"

Actually, Necia strongly suspected that Harry wanted more than friendship with her, but she didn't want to dash any of Ginny's hopes. If Harry kept pursuing her, then what could they do about it? Until then, however, she felt her friend deserved the chance more. Besides, right now really wasn't the time for her to be starting a serious relationship, or even a semi-serious one, and she wanted to make it perfectly clear to Draco that she wasn't doing anything with Harry. She didn't feel like having rumors spread about her so early in her time at Hogwarts. "In fact, I think I might be able to help you, but for right now, let's get back to the tryouts."

With a considerably more cheerful Ginny at her side, Necia returned to the field, watching queasily as the different kids darted around above her. Even watching them from below made her stomach dance around, now that she knew what it was like to be up there. Before too long Harry came to sit beside her, watching Ron defend the goal posts as the new kids tried to score. "What are you thinking about?" he asked casually, leaning back and shading his eyes from the sun as he followed the progress above them.

Necia shrugged, very much aware of Ginny unashamedly eavesdropping on them, which wasn't difficult considering the fact that she was sitting right next to them. "Actually, Ginny was just telling me that the school is considering holding a Yule Ball. It's been a few years since they did that, right?" Ginny had actually shared this information a few days earlier, but Harry more than likely hadn't heard it even if anyone had mentioned it directly to him.

He nodded, bringing himself forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "Yeah, the last time was in my fourth year, but that was because the students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons were here. Why are they doing it this year?"

Ginny leaned in to join the conversation. "It's as a celebration of You-Know-Who's death. We're free, we ought to celebrate."

Suddenly, Necia had the very strong feeling that Harry was fully prepared to ask her to go with him right then and there. In an attempt to save Ginny the humiliation, she quickly blurted out, "You know, I almost forgot that I have to talk to Professor Lupin about my vampire essay." Without giving anyone a chance to say anything, she jumped to her feet and strode purposefully across the grounds, not daring to look back. How stupid did that sound? She didn't need to talk to Lupin, but it wouldn't hurt to visit him anyway. Being as close as he was to Harry and his friends, he had automatically adopted her as another preferred student. She had never been to his office alone before though, she had always been with at least one of the others when they went to have tea with him.

Lupin looked up from the tests he was grading and smiled as she knocked on the door. "Hello, Necia. I must say this is something of a surprise. How are you doing?"

She came in and nervously settled herself down in a chair in front of his desk. "I'm alright, I just have a hard time watching the Quidditch tryouts. How are you?"

He nodded understandingly as he replied, "I'm as well as can be expected." She understood the comment; the full moon had finished only two days earlier and he looked thoroughly exhausted. "I know what you mean about Quidditch. I never really understood how James and Sirius could feel safe darting around on a mere piece of wood so high up in the air." He was silent for a moment, then he looked at her meaningfully. "It has been brought to my attention that you're rather proficient in potion-making, and it won't be long before you are being privately tutored by Severus Snape. If you don't mind my asking, whose idea was this arrangement?"

"Professor Snape was the one to mention it, although I've been noticing that he seems reluctant to actually start the lessons, which I am extremely grateful for. I can't say the prospect is exciting."

Lupin smiled. "No, I don't suppose it would be. Harry has a long history of bad experiences with Professor Snape, so I was wondering how it was leading him to treat you. Has he shown any prejudice against you?"

"I don't know him very well, so I couldn't tell you if I'm being treated differently than any other student, but I know there's the automatic dislike he has of Gryffindors. I've sensed that, but I don't believe I'm discriminated against more than anyone else. I don't think he would have suggested private lessons if he really hated me all that much. I think he just naturally dislikes everyone."

Once again Lupin smiled, nodding in agreement as she spoke until she reached the end of her comments. "There's one point I will have to warn you against. Severus would gladly suggest private lessons if he thought it would be an opportunity to make someone's life more miserable, but this may just be my personal opinion of him interfering with my observations. I hope you don't think I'm prying, I'm just concerned about how these private lessons may go. If at any time you feel you're being treated unfairly or inappropriately, please come and tell me about it and I'll help in any way I can."

The rest of the visit was perfectly enjoyable, Lupin was one of the kindest people she had ever met, but his words of caution stayed with her when she left his office. She understood his worries about her being treated unfairly, but inappropriately? Was he suspicious of Snape's intentions in requesting private lessons? She shook her head to clear away the thoughts. He was only preparing her for some rough treatment, which she already was getting ready for, and she was honestly grateful for his concern. She felt that even outside of her friendship with Harry, Lupin had taken an extreme liking to her, and it was easy for her to talk to him as well.

Meandering thoughtfully down the corridor, Necia didn't even notice where she was going or who was approaching her until she found herself facing Severus Snape. He smiled grimly down at her, immediately sending chills through her. "Ms. Holt, I believe it's time for us to discuss your tutoring."


	8. The Good Old Days

Author's Note: But the plot is precisely what is giving me the opportunity to be slightly unorthodox with Snape's character. The Snape that we are so familiar with from the first five books has not had Cassandra on his mind, nor has he had Necia nearby to unknowingly encourage his memories. He has been reintroduced to feelings that he has kept suppressed for eighteen years and he is reacting to Necia because she looks so much like her mother. Just because he has been deliberately ignoring the resemblance since the first time he spoke to her doesn't mean that part of him isn't responding. This is entirely new territory with him, so his reactions are open to interpretation.

I know my interpretation will be different from the next person's, but that's the way it should be. To me, Snape is the mostcomplex character in the books, so without shoving him into a pink tutu and making him propose on bended knee, there aren't too many limits as long as there are reasons.

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Haunted

By Be Boring

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Chapter 7: The Good Old Days

The past few months had been both some of the best times of Necia's life, and some of the worst. She had better friends than she could have ever imagined, which was something she never had growing up, due to the lack of others her own age. Her mother had been her friend, which was what made things so difficult now. In general she was happy, but when it came to dealing with Draco and Snape, she couldn't think of anyone but her mother to talk to, so she had taken up a diary. She never failed to write in it, and it was a constant source of relief to her.

Draco hadn't eased up on her at all since their very first encounter, and after their disagreement at the Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts, he had become more predatory towards her. Everywhere she turned, she was sure to see him in the shadows, and if they ever confronted each other, she usually came off worse in the argument. She had no idea why Draco was so interested in crushing her spirits every day, but if he didn't manage to succeed, Snape finished the job for him. Lupin had been right about Snape's motives for tutoring her; it was another excuse to make a student miserable, and she was one of his favorites in that respect. Her first lesson had been horrible to the point where she considered simply dropping the subject and studying it independently, but she knew Dumbledore wouldn't support that. Potions were a potentially dangerous form of magic, and allowing a student to instruct themselves in that discipline would never be allowed. Hence the reason that she was currently sitting in Snape's dungeon, carefully overlooking the instructions for a very complicated potion. She knew that one of the reasons that Snape was so sour towards her during these sessions was because he could never find anything to criticize in her work. When it came to potions, she was an extremely capable student, and he was finding it difficult to intimidate her without the benefit of her helplessness to assist him, so he had taken to standing a few feet off to her right and behind her, where she couldn't see him clearly but she was always aware that he was there.

Thankfully, the joys of her friends greatly outweighed the depressing encounters with her two least favorite people. She was now undoubtedly best friends with Ginny, and she strongly sensed Harry's feelings towards her. With Christmas and the Yule Ball approaching at high speeds, she was finding it harder to avoid situations where he could ask her to the ball, but it was starting to feel like a hopeless battle anyway. He clearly had no interest in Ginny, although she did everything in her power to push the two together, always finding excuses to leave them alone with each other. At least Ginny clearly understood Harry's mild feelings towards her and was steadily becoming more and more indifferent about the situation every day. Still, Necia didn't want to allow anything to happen between herself and Harry. Draco had taken to calling her "Potter's lapdog" with particular emphasis on the syllable _lap_, and she didn't want to give him any basis for continuing. Of course, Harry was making that exceedingly difficult. During their first Hogsmeade trip, although they had made no verbal agreement, he followed her everywhere. No matter which shop she decided to enter, he would be close behind, and it was hard to avoid Draco's smirks at the interesting scene.

Necia understood why Harry was interested in her. She felt she was a decent-looking girl, which was clearly selling herself short, and they had many things in common. They were both orphaned in harsh manners, they were both ridiculously modest, and also fairly shy. Harry, although he had fame to increase his personal value, was not extremely attractive. She would never have said he was ugly, but he was rather plain. He wasn't very tall and had no visible muscle to speak of. If it weren't for the shock of black hair sticking out in all directions, he would have had no physical traits to make him stand out, so combining that with his preference for sticking mainly to his own friends, he hadn't been in many situations where hopes of a relationship were possible. She had already heard about his short fling with Cho, but it hadn't amounted to much. Naturally he would be interested in an attractive girl who was easily available to him, and perhaps open to the idea. _'If only he could see that Ginny's been perfectly available this entire time,'_ she thought sadly.

* * *

How could she not have made a mistake yet? Severus would have been in awe of the girl if it weren't for the vibe of strong resentment that seemed to roll off of her whenever he was around. He hadn't been nearly as talented in Potions at her age, and he had somewhat liked his teacher. At the very least he had respected him. Here, however, it was clear that Necia was only submitting herself to the agony of his presence because of her sheer determination to learn about Potions. He watched as she added the beetle eyes to her potion and it turned the proper shade of neon orange. Despite her open hostility, his mind immediately made the vision of her waver and change smoothly into that of Cassandra, her image reminding him of the times they had spent down here in this very room working on potions after school hours. Cassandra had been sufficiently gifted enough to be able to help Severus in this task, and he had always enjoyed stepping back and watching her work on it for a while, very aware of the sacrifice of her free time that she was giving him by helping him with the potions that he was always eager to test out for himself.

"How many dragon scales am I supposed to add, Sev?" Cassandra asked nervously, biting her lip and staring at the small pile of scales in front of her. "And am I supposed to put it in before or after the Flequorn ash?"

Severus's eyes widened as he rushed forward to inspect the potion. "Please tell me you didn't already put in the ash," he muttered almost to himself.

Cassandra cringed and held up the tiny box containing the ash. "I, uh, might have done that already," she replied hesitantly.

A vein in his forehead that would become considerably more prominent later in his life began to pulse frantically. "After spending two weeks working on this?" he asked incredulously. Suddenly, she chuckled and selected the correct amount of dragon scales she needed to add.

"Relax, Sev, I didn't add it. I just wondered if you had fallen asleep back there while you were letting me do all the work," she teased gently, making sure not to aggravate him too much. Joking was fine, but Severus was a volatile teenager and she didn't much fancy setting him off.

He sighed with relief and backed away, leaning on the desk behind them. "I think I was just about to have a heart attack," he grumbled lightly, already forgiving her for her trick. She was right, he had let her work on it much longer than she usually did. He generally liked to be in control of the potions. No wonder she had tried to shock him like that.

She leaned over the cauldron momentarily to add the scales, then flipped her hair over her shoulder to look back at him, smiling through the half of her hair that had stubbornly decided to stay in front of the shoulder. "You really need to learn to lighten up, Sev," she taunted playfully, flicking one of the remaining scales in his direction.

"Not likely," Snape muttered to himself, leaning back against the very same desk that he had rested on so many years ago.

Necia, confused by the unintelligible sound, flipped her hair quickly over her shoulder to look back at him. "Did you say something, Professor?" she asked curiously. Snape was usually silent during these sessions.

Severus watched her try and blow some strands of hair away from her face, which was only part of a large chunk that hadn't followed the rest over her shoulder when she'd flipped her head back. For a moment, no sound could pass his lips; it felt like someone had replayed a scene before his eyes, changing his memory only by way of the hair color of the girl in front of him. He turned away from her for a moment and pretended to cough, then turned back. Now that she had succeeded in moving her hair out of the way and she was looking at him with the same wary hostility that she always did, the resemblance seemed to melt away. "Not that I am aware of, Ms. Holt. Please concentrate on your potion before it boils over." He inclined his head towards the cauldron in front of her, forcing her to realize that the potion had risen up to bubble at the very top edge. She quickly set about decreasing her flame and stirring carefully to bring it back down, and Severus was allowed to enjoy his little victory. Necia had finally slipped up.

* * *

With more relief than she could have possibly expressed, Necia collapsed onto one of the squishy chairs next to the fire. It was so late by now that most of the other students had already gone to bed, with the exception of her friends who had vigilantly waited up for her. She stuffed a pillow over her face to block out every bit of light and groaned in very muffled tones, "I don't suppose my homework magically finished itself?"

Ginny laughed, pulling the pillow off her friend's face, although she stubbornly kept her eyes squeezed shut. "Sorry, it's still waiting for you."

"Is anything due tomorrow?"

"The essay question for Charms," Hermione replied quickly. "Other than that, there's nothing, and you can afford to put that off until tomorrow. We'll have Advanced Potions, so you'll have your study period." Sometimes Necia just didn't know what she would do without Hermione there to keep her schedule straight.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Ginny stated excitedly, "Actually, we've been talking about something that we think you'll like."

Necia peeked open one eye to look at her. "Really? What is it?"

This time Ron leaned forward. "Instead of the middle of our Christmas vacation like last time, the Yule Ball will be on the last official day of school before the break, which leaves us the time to make plans, and my family really wants all of you to come to our house for the holidays."

She sat bolt upright, hardly believing the news. "So that includes me?"

All four of her friends laughed, with Ron managing to say, "Of course that includes you. My mum really wants to meet you. She thinks it's exciting that I'm finally talking to someone other than Harry and Hermione. Besides, I like showing off our house. Ever since Dad became Minister of Magic, we've been doing a lot of repair work."

Ginny grinned. "The only place fancier is Malfoy Manor, but our home is more comfortable." After several minutes of happily discussing the prospects of what they could do for fun over the holidays, Ginny was able to speak to Necia alone, which was something she had apparently been waiting to do. The others announced that they were heading to bed, while Ginny and Necia procrastinated as much as possible. When she was sure of no one hearing them, Ginny leaned in close to her friend. "Just to let you know, while you were gone we talked a lot about the Yule Ball, and Harry is going to ask you to go with him. He told us so not too long before you came back. Just say yes, it will save everyone a lot of trouble."

"But Ginny…"

"Don't give me any excuses. It's pretty obvious that Harry likes you, and I'm not stupid enough to fight that. I think if it weren't for me, you would have been dating a long time ago. Besides, I think Neville's been working up the courage to ask me to go with him. I just hope his dancing skills have improved in the last three years."

Necia lagged behind her friend, hoping for a few moments completely alone by the fire to sit with her thoughts. She felt terrible about hurting Ginny, but she liked the idea of going to the Yule Ball with Harry and now that there was nothing in the way, why not? She liked him too and at the very least she knew they would have fun. As she stared into the dancing depths of the fireplace, a hand gently descended on her shoulder and she turned to look up into Harry's eyes, partially hidden by the reflection of the flames on his glasses. She smiled up at him. "Hi," she said quietly, moving her arm so he could sit on the armrest of the chair. "I thought you went to bed?"

He looked down at his feet, at the fire, then back at his feet again. He apparently wasn't used to asking girls out. To his credit, though, he didn't waste any time dancing around the subject. "Would you like to go to the ball with me?"

She could have smiled at the directness. "Sure, that should be fun," she replied nervously, wishing she didn't sound like such a complete idiot.

To her surprise, he sighed with relief and slumped back against the chair. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to work up the guts to do that?" he asked shyly. "That was harder than asking Cho last time, and she turned me down." He appeared a little embarrassed at having mentioned his ex-girlfriend while asking someone else out on a date, but he couldn't be held accountable. With the way he was rambling, he couldn't be expected to say everything right.

Necia slid over in the chair so that he had room to come down and sit next to her. It was rather cramped, and their legs were touching no matter how they twisted themselves around, but Necia finally gave up and rested her head on his shoulder. It was rather nice to have free rein to do with him as she pleased, without having to worry about Ginny. Although not happily, Ginny had given her consent, and Necia was planning on taking her at her word. "What plans do you think we'll all be making next year at this time?" she asked thoughtfully, letting the fire lull her into a daze. "Will we be getting together at Ron's house like this year, or will we all be so busy that we'll only be able to send each other Christmas cards?"

"I hope it's the first one," he said longingly, "but I know it's just as possible that we could all be living completely different lives with new friends, and we'll be making separate plans to go to their houses. But I wouldn't just send you a card, I'd send you a huge letter."

A quick grin flashed across her face. "And I'll send you a Howler, just to yell at you for only sending a letter and not coming to see me."

"You know, it's perfectly okay for _you_ to come see _me_," he teased, giving her a gentle jab in the ribs as he spoke. "I don't always need to make the first move."

Necia tilted her head back thoughtfully and looked up at him. "You're right, you don't." With that said, she slowly leaned up and planted a light kiss on the corner of his lips. They weren't in a great position for a good kiss, but she could tease him with it. To her surprise, Harry twisted himself enough around in the seat so that they were facing each other comfortably and leaned in for a real kiss, awkwardly placing his hands on her shoulders as their lips met. She slid a hand up to the back of his neck to deepen it for a moment, but with the ever-present awareness of how new this was for both of them, she decided that was more than enough. They sat back, eyes jumping around uncomfortably for a few seconds until they both quickly blurted out some ridiculous excuse about how they had to get up early the next morning. As they stood up and prepared to go their separate ways, Necia reached out and took Harry's hand in her own to give it a light squeeze. "Goodnight, Harry," she said quietly as she released his hand and headed for the stairs to the girls' dormitory. She heard his quiet reply, and walked up to her room with a smile on her face. She had plenty to write in her diary tonight.

* * *

Severus lay quietly on his back, slowly rolling a practically ancient Snitch between his fingers. If he let go of it, it hardly had the magic left to hover three inches above his hand, so now he tended to use it as a stress reliever. There was something strangely relaxing about releasing something so feeble in its age only to snatch away its freedom. As he stared at the frail relic in his hand, his mind wandered back to the time when he had acquired it.

Despite the undoubtfully cheery appearance of the day, Severus just couldn't be happy. Cassandra was sitting next to him on the Hogwarts grounds near the lake, but even she couldn't distract him from stubbornly watching James Potter throw that ridiculous Snitch around. 'Just a few more weeks, that's all the longer I have to put up with this,'_ he thought gratefully. He couldn't wait to graduate, it just couldn't come fast enough as far as he was concerned. His eyes followed the group of four scrambling around on the far shore, everyone competing with James to catch the Snitch first. Remus had even lowered himself to join in the chase, with Peter miserably falling behind, and the only person who was capable of occasionally grabbing it first was Sirius. When he did manage to get his hands on it, he would race across the shoreline, calling back loud jeers to James, taunting him into a rough game of tag, which was something Sirius was better at than his best friend. _

Cassandra followed the direction of his eyes and flopped back, giving an exasperated snort. "Why do you watch them like that, Sev? You don't have to deal with them much longer, so why don't you just ignore them? You know you're going to get farther in life than them anyway."

He shrugged, never taking his eyes from Sirius, who was steadily and unknowingly drawing closer to their current spot on the shore. "Maybe I'm just finding my own way to appreciate my freedom more once we're out of this hellhole," he replied absently, just barely finishing his sentence when Sirius reached them. The other boy paused, looking down at them with a combination of curiosity and disgust, then flicked the Snitch down at Snape so that it bounced harshly off his nose.

When he spoke, however, it was directed at Cassandra. "Why are you sitting over here with this git? You could probably contract a disease from him without touching him."

Cassandra scowled, looking remarkably like her cousin as she responded airily, "I happen to like people who can carry a conversation for more than one minute."

Sirius pressed a hand against his heart as though she had deeply offended him. "You cut me so deep, miss, that I might never recover." Dropping his hand and smirking at her, he added, "Besides, if you are capable enough in other areas, a conversation isn't always so important."

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms obstinately across her chest, giving him the firmest signal possible that she wanted him to leave. He took the hint and jogged back towards the others, muttering something from which Snape could only discern one word: Snivellus. Angrily pushing himself to his feet, he started marching across the grounds to the school, deciding that perhaps the library was a better place to relax. Cassandra hurried after him, catching the back of his robe and slowing him down.

"Wait, you have something in your robes."

Snape paused, looking down to see that a portion of his robes was jumping around like someone was tugging them. He reached down and closed his fingers around a firm object beneath them, pulling it out to reveal the Snitch that Sirius had thrown at him. He glanced back over his shoulder to see if James had realized that his prized toy was gone, but seeing that the group hadn't even noticed its absence, he tucked it away in his pocket. Cassandra raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "What are you keeping that thing for? Just let it loose and maybe something in the forest will catch it and choke on it."

He smiled vaguely at the idea, but didn't move to release the struggling little winged orb from his pocket. "I'd rather hold onto it," was the only reply he would give her. After that, she gave up asking and joined him in the library, where she was finally able to encourage him to have a normal conversation without the presence of his rivals.

'Just a few more weeks, that's all the longer I have to put up with this,' 

Severus snorted and gave the old Snitch a tight, cruel squeeze. Why was he thinking about Cassandra so much lately? Ever since his dream at the beginning of the school year, he hadn't been able to completely get her off his mind. He had spent eighteen years with the satisfaction and relief of having her pushed to the far back of his mind, but she had stubbornly come forward again. Where was she right now? What had she decided to do once they were no longer together? He knew that she hadn't kept up any kind of communication with Sirius, not that he had expected her to, but she had also broken away from her family. As much as she didn't like her family's reputation, he couldn't foresee her actually wanting to cut herself off from them completely. What would have made her want that?

He finally put the tiny orb away into a small box that he had discovered long ago was perfectly suited to holding it. Actually, Cassandra had found it for him. Once he had his own little prison for the Snitch, he had locked it away and refused to touch it until the second war with Voldemort was nearing its most volatile time. He looked at the box closer, studying the intricately carved designs that covered it. It was a beautiful box, no doubt about that, but why would someone go through the trouble of putting those useless curls all over it? As a flash of lightning temporarily brightened his room, something suddenly stood out to him. He grabbed his wand and murmured, "_Lumos,_" holding it directly above the box. Now that his attention was drawn to it, he realized that the designs did indeed have a purpose other than merely looking attractive. They met in the center of the cover to form the initials C.M. They were hardly discernible, but the shadows cast by his wand made them more prominent. He had always been under the impression that she had simply found the box and thought he could use it, but unless she had just happened to come across a box with her own initials on it, then it was one of her own possessions.

He flipped up the lid again and dropped the Snitch into his bedside drawer to keep it from lazily trying to escape, if it were even capable of it. Moving his fingers around the worn cloth lining, he finally felt a small square beneath the beaten material. He ripped the lining out to get at it and tossed it aside. Why had it never occurred to him, especially when she had first given it to him, that she might have left something inside for him? She was always doing things like that, he had found notes of hers everywhere when they were at school. The square object turned out to be a small piece of parchment that had been folded several times.

Now he hesitated, staring apprehensively at the scrap in front of him. Did he really want to read it? The last thing he needed was another reminder of his history with Cassandra Malfoy. After a brief moment's deliberation, he finally unfolded it and held it under his wand so he could see it. In Cassandra's beautifully flowing handwriting, it said:

This belonged to my grandmother, and I stole it when  
I was a little girl. I figured that because you  
needed something to keep a stolen item in  
that this would work perfectly for you. I have  
another little stolen trinket that I think you  
might like. I'll bet you can guess where I hid it.

It was only the work of a moment to realize what she was talking about. In the corner of the Potions classroom was an old brick could be easily slid out of the wall, revealing a pit inside that was roughly the size of his fist now. It was one of her favorite hiding places, and if she didn't hide something in there at least once a week, he would wonder if she were mad at him. _She gave me that box in the last week of school. I never had time to check that spot before we left. _Out of spite he wanted to forget about it, but curiosity wouldn't allow him that satisfaction. Within seconds he had climbed out of bed and was walking straight for the classroom, thankful that he didn't run into any students along the way.

Once he was in the classroom, Severus paused in front of the loose brick, once again wondering whether this was such a good idea. Finally he kneeled down in front of the brick and carefully slid it out, unsure if whatever she had left for him would even still be there, or in what kind of shape it would be in if it was. He peered into the opening, then he realized what he was staring at. He reached inside and gently drew out a minuscule, grimy, gold figurine of a dragon battling with a giant snake. The claws and fangs were silver, and the eyes of the dragon were emeralds while the snake's were rubies. He carefully started to rub away the grime with his robe sleeve, revealing the true shine it possessed. It was a family tradition to give each Malfoy child this figurine, which supposedly symbolized everything their family stood for. Severus had been incredibly jealous of them, but Cassandra was too attached to hers to give it up. He tilted the model over and looked at the engraved initials on the bottom, stating L.M. For the first time in many years, Snape earnestly chuckled and sat back on the floor to examine his prize. Cassandra knew how much he had wanted one, so she had stolen Lucius's for him.

Long after he had returned to his bedroom and fallen asleep, Cassandra remained on his mind. For the first time since the day of the class reunion, he regretted leaving her.


	9. The Yule Ball

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Haunted

By Be Boring

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Chapter 8: The Yule Ball

Necia bit her lip in concentration as she kept one eye on the clock, the other on the potion she was stirring. There were two reasons for this. First, she needed to stir this potion for exactly two minutes, no more, no less. Second, she was anxiously waiting for her lesson with Snape to be over so that she could run and get ready for the Yule Ball. Only Snape could come up with the cruelty of making her work with him on the last day before the break. Her bags were already packed for Ron's house, and nothing had ever excited her more. It would be nice to be in a family setting again, and from what she had heard about his brothers, it would be an event to look forward to.

Suddenly, she realized that Snape was no longer standing behind her, but was only peeking in on her occasionally from the door to the corridor. When she had finished her potion, she snuck over to the door to peer around the corner for when he returned to check on her again. What was he doing? That became very clear when he entered the corridor again. He was now wearing black dress robes and some very attractive dragon-skin boots. Just as his eyes were starting to head in her direction, she dashed back into the room and threw herself down onto her seat. She tried to look as disgruntled as usual when he looked in at her, but after he let her know she could leave, she couldn't help but call out as he was walking away and she was slipping out the door, "Nice boots!" She had already disappeared up the stairs as he eyed her suspiciously from around the corner of the corridor, wondering how she could have seen them.

Hardly able to keep from laughing at the prospect of Snape having a date for the ball, Necia made her way back up to the Gryffindor common room, stunned at how empty it was of anyone over third year. _'If it weren't for Snape, I could have been getting ready like everyone else too.'_ Still, she had enough time to make herself look halfway decent. As she dashed up the stairs, she heard excited giggles from behind some of the closed doors, while the sixth years' door was open, giving her a full view of Ginny, who was nearly finished getting ready. Necia had to admit that her friend looked stunning. She had chosen soft, creamy, light beige robes to set off her eyes, which also had the pleasant side effect of making her hair color more vibrant than ever. The top half of her hair was pulled back into a regal twist, and the little makeup she had used only succeeded in setting off her elegant features. If she had used more, it would have ruined the effect.

"Necia!" she called out excitedly, then got a better look at her friend. "You haven't even started getting ready yet!" she gasped in horror.

Necia rushed up the stairs, calling over her shoulder, "Then I'll just have to hurry!"

Only moments after she had entered the seventh years' room, Ginny followed her inside, and between Ginny, Lavender, and Parvati, Necia ended up looking as though she had been preparing for as long as they had. Hermione sat nearby to watch, but she was hardly suited to constructing a makeover. Necia's dress robes were a glossy white, forcing her dark hair to stand out, and Parvati had used a clever charm to make her hair slightly more curly, giving it an extra thickness it hardly needed but which looked amazing combined with the touches of eyeliner and brown eye shadow around her eyes. Lavender came up with the idea of placing an elaborately decorated diamond pin just above her left ear and pulling all of her hair over so that it rested in front of her right shoulder. The final touch was two pearl drop earrings, which were an old gift from her mother. When their work was done, everyone stepped back to inspect the finished product. Necia couldn't believe they had finished so quickly, and she still had a few minutes to spare before going down and meeting Harry in the common room.

When Lavender and Parvati had moved off to take care of a few last minute things for themselves, Necia asked Ginny, "Are you going with Neville?"

Ginny nodded, trying to ignore the sympathetic look Hermione was sending in her direction. "Yeah, but I think it will be okay. If he turns out to still be a bad dancer, I'll just attach myself to you guys for the night." Suddenly, she looked mischievously at Hermione. "So, did Ron ever ask you?"

Hermione shrugged, obviously not catching Ginny's meaning. "Yeah, but it's not like it's a big deal. We had no one else to ask, so why not go with a friend?"

Necia and Ginny both smiled condescendingly. "Right."

Hermione looked at them both in confusion for a few seconds, then realization dawned on her face. "Wait, are you thinking this is something more serious?" At the bright grins on her friends' faces, a look of horror passed over hers and she moved into a defensive posture. "You couldn't be more wrong. Ron isn't bright enough to realize that I'm female, as he demonstrated at the last Yule Ball, and neither one of us is looking for a relationship right now. We're just going together to get rid of the stress that naturally comes with going with someone that there could be higher possibilities with. We didn't want to deal with that, so we're going with each other."

Ginny nodded slowly, obviously not buying a word of it. "Of course, I completely understand. I'm sure that's why he wanted to ask you."

Hermione was still sending them dark looks as they descended the stairs and entered the common room, but she had to stop when Ron spotted her and came over. At the deep blush on his face as his eyes rested on her, Ginny and Necia decided it was probably best if they moved away and gave the two of them some privacy. Soon Ginny headed towards Neville, leaving Necia on her own. She stood on her tiptoes to look around. Where was Harry? Suddenly, a finger gently tapped her shoulder and she turned around, smiling at Harry. He looked rather handsome in deep red velvet robes, and he had even managed to tame his hair for the evening. She suspected that had taken several potions and charms to succeed.

His eyes were almost startled as he looked her over, then a blush clearly settled into his cheeks. "You, uh, look really beautiful," he stuttered nervously, having a very difficult time meeting her eyes.

She flushed at the compliment. "You look really good, too," she echoed, wondering why it felt so much more awkward now that this was an official date. Even after their first kiss, things hadn't been quite like this. In fact, the kiss hadn't changed much of anything, and they had enjoyed a fair few snogging sessions since then. Now, however, was more nerve-wracking than public speaking, which was easily her least favorite activity.

They were saved the trouble of having to find something to talk about by the arrival of Ginny, Neville, Ron, and Hermione by their sides. Things seemed to fall into a more normal flow as they headed out for the Great Hall, with everyone speculating on what the room would look like and what the musical entertainment would be. They hadn't managed to book the Weird Sisters, so no one had any idea who would be providing the music. As it turned out, it was a magical version of a Muggle disc jockey. Rather than CDs, however, the wizard in charge of the music simply prodded a strange floating purple orb that was completely transparent, revealing gold swirls inside that were constantly on the move. Whenever the wizard wanted to select another song, he simply pressed his wand against the orb again. The music seemed to surround them, as though the singer were right next to their ears, but it wasn't overpowering.

It wasn't too long before a great number of couples had moved to the dance floor and started wriggling wildly, making Necia wonder what the fascination was. She preferred slow songs, otherwise she ended up looking like she was being electrocuted. Of course, schooling with your mother didn't provide much opportunity for dancing. When the first slow song finally came on, Harry looked around for a moment as though he was trying to work up the courage to ask her to dance, but she decided to do it for him. If he was a little nervous about progressing things right now, then she would help him along.

"Want to dance?" she asked cheerfully, smiling when he looked at her with an expression that was a perfect combination of nerves and relief. He could only nod, but at least he led the way out to the dance floor. As they started, Necia thought things were actually going pretty good until Draco and Pansy moved to dance next to them.

"At least you're finally being open about it," Draco sneered, all the while with Pansy rubbing herself most unflatteringly against his side.

Harry looked at Necia in confusion. "Open about what?" Draco had never presented his theories on Necia's activities in front of Harry before, he only did that when he had the chance to speak with Necia alone.

Necia shook her head, struggling to hold back her quickly bubbling rage. There was no way she was going to let that foul-mouthed bastard ruin her evening. "Nothing, Harry, Malfoy doesn't know what he's talking about." Very quickly she pulled Harry away from the pair, positioning them in a more open area. She tried to shrug off the slight drawback to their date with a smile. "You'll never believe who I saw getting ready for the ball tonight."

Harry thought for a moment, but couldn't seem to come up with anything. "Who?"

"Snape."

"What?" Harry's eyes bugged out of his head and he stopped dancing for a moment, twisting his head around wildly to see where the Potions professor was. "Do you know if he actually had a date?"

"I don't know, but he's wearing some really nice dragon-skin boots. If he were just coming alone, I don't think he would have put those on."

Harry looked completely dumbfounded. "Did he wear something other than black for once?"

She laughed and shook her head. "I think he's colorblind, otherwise he would have noticed there are actually colors in this world." Suddenly, she froze and her mouth dropped open. "Look over there!" she gasped, hardly able to believe her eyes. Harry turned to follow her gaze. To their amusement and horror, Snape was dancing with Madam Hooch, but rather than looking revolted by the physical contact, Madam Hooch seemed perfectly content as they conversed quietly. If anything, it was Snape who looked as though he would rather be somewhere else.

Necia's mouth moved silently for a few moments, then she finally managed to get some words out. "Who do you think asked who?"

"You know, I never thought I'd say this, but I think _she_ asked _him_. Do you think she fell off her broom?" They both laughed and turned their attention back to each other, too disturbed by the sight of Snape and Madam Hooch to say much more on the subject.

* * *

Although he wasn't as miserable as he could have been, Severus was far from enjoying the ball. Dumbledore had made it clear that he wanted all the teachers present as chaperones, so he didn't have much choice by way of attendance. This was why when Rolanda had asked him to come with her, he had agreed. She was a clever woman and normally a good conversationalist, so he figured at least he wouldn't be completely bored, but he hadn't quite counted on just how much she liked to talk about Quidditch. Of course he knew that it was her favorite pastime, but how much could there possibly be to talk about on the subject? Finally, he managed to extricate himself from her by saying that he thought it was best to check if Dumbledore needed him to do anything, then briskly took off for the edge of the floor where Dumbledore was talking to Hagrid.

Dumbledore looked up with his usual twinkle in his eye as he approached. "Are you enjoying yourself, Severus?"

He looked around sulkily. "I don't see why you decided to have this ball, Albus, or at the very least why you felt the need to drag me into it. I'd be much better off sleeping right now."

Hagrid chuckled, although he didn't often speak to Snape. "I think it was a good idea. The kids need somethin' to celebrate. After all, if You-Know-Who was still alive, they'd have a war to worry about."

Shrugging off the comment and gazing around the room, Snape commented, "I just wish you didn't choose a celebration that would require so much supervision. I'm sure if I walked outside right now, there would be several couples in the bushes thinking they were well enough hidden to do whatever they pleased."

"There were nine, to be exact," came Professor McGonogall's weary voice as she walked up beside them. "I only managed to confront three of them, the others got away before I could punish them. It's to be expected, though. At that age kids tend to react more with their hormones than with their brains. I asked Rolanda to take over the job for a little while; she didn't seem to have anything else to do." As another slow song started to play, she turned to Severus. "Would you like to dance? I need to take my mind off things for at least a few minutes, then I can get back to giving detentions."

Snape would have gladly taken over the job instead of Madam Hooch, but he decided to give her one dance. At least he could count on Minerva not to bore him with sports talk. They made some small talk as they slowly circled the dance floor, never talking about anything serious in the least, and finally determining that seeing as how it was December, the weather was going to be cold, and would likely be cold for a while. They had just reached the center of the floor when the song ended and the music wizard charmed his voice to a higher volume.

"Just to mix things up a little, I would like everyone to switch partners with the couple closest to them. Don't think about sneaking off the floor now, I'm watching each and every one of you," he joked, motioning with his arms for everyone to make the switch. Minerva stepped away from him and looked directly to their right.

"Hello, Harry," she said lightly, holding out her hand to none other than Harry Potter.

* * *

Necia wished she knew a good invisibility spell right now, because there was no way to avoid Snape seeing her and realizing who his dance partner was to be. There was a very pregnant pause as they stared at each other, both their faces clearly expressing that this was the last thing in the world that they were interested in doing. Harry looked at her in horror, but McGonogall had already pulled him away and was clumsily dancing with him, due to the fact that he wasn't paying attention to her at all. Suddenly, Necia realized what the most horrifying part of her predicament was. She was going to have to touch him! All of a sudden she felt like a seven-year-old girl who fully believed that the opposite sex had cooties.

Upon seeing their hesitation, the music wizard strutted straight out into the dance floor to join them and stood there with his hands on his hips, making everyone near them turn to watch the scene. "You know, I do know how to charm you so you stick together and have no choice in the matter," he said teasingly, a ridiculous smile plastered on his face.

Snape's lip curled slightly. "Then you're not giving us a choice in the matter to begin with," he said coldly. When the wizard didn't budge an inch, he glanced over at Dumbledore, who only smiled back in amusement, then he looked at Necia as though he would like nothing more than to disinfect her first. Finally, he stepped forward and picked up one of her hands, placing his other on her back.

Necia's stomach rebelled furiously from the contact, churning until she wished she could just cut it out. The song began finally, now that everyone was with a partner, but she and Snape hardly moved. At the most they tilted back and forth, but their feet moved barely more than two inches from their starting position. If she had thought things were awkward with Harry earlier, it was nothing compared to this. Neither of them said a word the entire time, both praying for the song to end as soon as possible. The longer the song trailed on, the more noticeable every tiny detail became. She could smell his aftershave combined with his natural husky scent, she could feel his breath on the side of her face, and she was always aware of the hand on her back, seeping warmth through her dress robes. It had never been more apparent than right then just how very tall he was, how much thicker his frame was than Harry's, and when she happened to glance at their loosely linked hands, she realized that his completely enveloped hers. When she didn't think she could take any more of it, the song finally ended and she was able to very quickly remove her hands from his hand and shoulder, rubbing them on the legs of her robes once he had turned away, which he did very quickly and without a word. _'I absolutely never want to do that again,'_ she thought disgustedly, then hurried off to find Harry.

* * *

Now Severus was completely against being anywhere near the ballroom. What malicious invisible force had invented the idea of making him dance with Necia Holt? What he hated even more was that although the dance had been assuredly uncomfortable, there were aspects he had enjoyed. First of all, she had been wearing some kind of perfume that, while not very heavy, was still sticking with him very pleasantly. If he lifted the hand that had been holding hers to his nose, he could still smell it clearly. Second, her discomfort had been enough to make him at least have some fun. And finally, although he hadn't yet admitted it to himself, it was very nice to have such an attractive dance partner. The efforts she had taken to look good for Harry were not completely lost on him. He had very quickly noticed how stunning she looked tonight, and at a few points he had been forced to notice how perfectly her robes rested against her curves. Still, he had no interest in dancing with her again. If anything, he no longer cared to dance with anyone tonight.

Stepping behind a gargoyle as Madam Hooch came back into the ballroom, he determinedly made his way outside. As he found a couple kissing passionately in the bushes, he felt a rush of relief. Now he could get back to real life.

* * *

The night began to pass quickly once she was back with Harry. His sympathy for her earlier discomfort quickly wiped away any emotional distance between them and they were able to spend the night pleasantly, enjoying every slow dance and even tentatively experimenting with some faster dances, although neither was very good at it. Finally, Necia began to tire of the dance scene and just wanted to be alone with Harry, away from the bustling, happy students. When she first suggested the idea to him, he replied, "I have a good idea of where to go."

Soon he was leading her through secret passageways and up staircases until they were standing in front of a bare piece of wall. She looked at him expectantly. "And why exactly are we here?"

"I want you to think of something you need, then concentrate on it and walk past this spot until a door appears." She didn't understand, but he looked so pleased with coming up with the idea to come here that she complied. After thinking for a second, the only thing she could come up with that she needed was her mother. What could she need more? Following Harry's instructions, she began to pace up and down the passageway, finally stopping when Harry called out, "Okay, it's there now." When she turned around, she realized that a door was in the middle of that bare patch of wall, and Harry was already reaching for it. "What did you wish for, anyway?" he asked as he held the door open for her, politely not looking inside until she had seen it first. Necia rushed through the open doorway, then stopped dead in her tracks.

She was looking at the inside of her house. It was as though she had stepped through her front door, because the living room was directly in front of them, with a hallway off to their left leading to the bathroom and the two bedrooms, and the large kitchen to their right. Tears automatically burned at the back of her eyes as she stepped inside, closing the door behind her. Without a word to Harry, she took off down the hallway to look into her own room, choking back a soft sob when she saw her own bed right in front of her, looking as inviting as ever. It didn't take Harry long to figure out what she had wished for.

"Is this where you lived with your mother?"

She could only nod in reply, gazing around at everything in awe and dashing from room to room to see if everything was as she remembered. Everything was perfect, even down to the basket of clean clothes that was always sitting in the corner of the bathroom. In the end, she finished the tour in her mother's room, even though she could have easily visited it right after her own room. Somehow it just felt right to save it for last. She picked up a picture on the bedside table and held it up to show Harry. "That's Mum and me on my fifth birthday."

He took the photograph from her and looked down into the smiling face of Cassandra Malfoy as she swung her happily squealing daughter in circles through the air. "You look just like her," he commented, obviously not sure how to handle the situation. Necia wiped away the tears that were threatening to spill over and crossed the hall to her own room, flopping out on the bed just to feel the familiar softness beneath her.

"I didn't realize how much I missed it until just now," she whispered, afraid that if she spoke too loud, she would shatter this perfect vision around her.

Harry came over to sit beside her. "Would you like to be alone for a little while?" he asked kindly.

She shook her head. "No, I want you to stay. I really don't feel like being alone." She raised herself back to a sitting position and leaned forward to kiss him gently. They had both improved at it significantly, so it wasn't nearly as awkward, and Necia automatically deepened the kiss. She slid closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and just enjoying the scent of him. He always smelled clean, like he had taken a shower just moments ago. Tentatively his tongue touched her lips and she parted them to give him entrance, while something in her mind registered that their energy was very different this time, more focused than ever before. For the first time, Necia was very aware of her breasts pressed against his chest and of his never-ending warmth. It felt so natural to be curled against him, feeling every breath he took as his hands gripped her back, pulling her as close as possible. It occurred to her that this might not be a very good idea, but with the impact of seeing her own home again, albeit a copy, she felt like she needed him.

Time seemed to slip away like water as eventually curiosity got the better of them. His fingers clumsily reached up and started undoing her robes, sliding them down her shoulders to reveal his only obstacles remaining, her undergarments. For the moment, however, he didn't bother with them, he just kept kissing her. She felt completely exposed, and with the surprising coolness of the air on her skin, her doubts started to spring forward again. In her own attempt to force away her fears, she reached behind herself and undid her bra clasp on her own, startling Harry when he awkwardly reached up to touch her breasts and found bare skin. He paused and leaned away from her for a moment, unabashedly staring down at her exposed breasts, making her breath catch nervously in her throat. Her stomach balled up into a tight, painful knot, and when he returned to kissing her and slowly started moving his lips down her neck with an obvious target in mind, she automatically pushed him back, panic rising in her chest.

"Is something wrong?" he asked quietly, trying to clear his own head against the haze of lust that was distracting him.

She took a deep breath and shook her head. "No, I'm fine." She leaned forward and kissed him again, pulling away his robes as she approached. There was one thing for sure, neither one had much idea of how to proceed. They knew what the general goal was, but getting there was an entirely different story. His hands fumbled gently over her breasts and she shivered against the sudden warmth, sliding closer and allowing his hands to travel lower and rest on the edge of her last remaining scrap of clothing. She froze suddenly as his fingers hooked the edges and started to remove her knickers, not fully panicking until they were completely off and his hands started sliding up her legs, one settling on the swell of her buttocks as the other eventually started venturing for the only place left unexplored. Suddenly, she couldn't hold it back anymore. She jumped backwards, breathing heavily and quickly covering her breasts, feeling far too exposed.

"I…I think we're going too fast," she gasped, unsure of what to do or if she had even done the right thing in bringing everything to a halt. She still felt the distinct tingles of pleasure racing over her skin, but she couldn't deny that she was terrified of going any further. On top of that she was embarrassed that she had let things get so far before realizing that she couldn't go through with it.

Harry looked startled at the interruption, but to his credit, he recovered very quickly. "You're right, we _are_ going just a little too fast," he agreed after sitting quietly for a few seconds. After several moments of silence during which Necia redressed herself and sat miserably on the edge of the bed, he asked, "Should we head back to the common room? The ball is probably over by now." She nodded gratefully at the suggestion and followed him towards the front door, watching him refasten his robes just before they exited.

It wasn't until they reached the Fat Lady that she felt she absolutely had to speak. "I'm sorry, Harry."

He looked at her with an eyebrow slightly raised. "What for? You're right, things were moving too fast. I think seeing your home again just really got to you."

She smiled with relief at his understanding and followed him into the common room, giving him a swift kiss on the cheek before heading up to the dormitories. Surprisingly, nobody was in her room at all, not even Hermione. _'Apparently Harry and I weren't the only ones with the idea of getting closer to our dates,'_ she thought with some amusement. She would have to talk to Hermione about it in the morning and find out what happened between her and Ron. As she prepared herself for bed, she had one object of solace in her mind: she would be going to the Weasley house tomorrow. Things couldn't be too uncomfortable with Harry there, could they?


	10. Off to the Burrow

****

Haunted

By Be Boring

****

Chapter 9: Off to the Burrow

Necia's entire morning had been filled with cries of: "Hurry up!" and "Where is my copy of something-or-other?" (usually heard from Hermione), and now she couldn't have been more relieved to be lining up in the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade so she and Ginny could use Floo Powder to travel to the Weasley's house. Because Ginny wasn't old enough to Apparate and Necia hadn't taken the test, the others had decided to be sympathetic and travel with them at least to the inn. Hermione was standing at the back of the group, angrily clutching her copy of _Hogwarts, A History_ against her chest lest she lose it again. Lavender had been hiding it from her all morning just to piss her off, although Hermione never did manage to find out that she was the one doing it.

Ginny was the first to step into the fireplace, and to her surprise everyone but Necia shoved their bags in with her and waved cheerfully. As soon as she was gone, everyone spread out slightly from each other to concentrate. Before they Disapparated, Necia threw in a handful of Floo Powder and stepped into the green flames, clearly stated, "The Burrow!", and quite suddenly she found herself stumbling out of the fireplace into a very homey living room. Suddenly, a plump little redheaded woman came bustling into the room at the exact moment that Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked through the door after Apparating in the front yard, looking surprised that the kids were already there. At the same time Ginny was kicking the luggage into the middle of the room sulkily, glaring at the others.

"Very funny, you guys. You actually let me believe you were coming here like me."

Ron grinned and picked up his bags. "Necia came here like you. As for us, we never actually said that we were using the Floo Powder, we just agreed to come with you to the Three Broomsticks. Besides, this way we could actually all get here at the same time."

Mrs. Weasley looked around the room helplessly. "I was really hoping that the cleaning would be done before you got here. Did you even eat breakfast at the school?"

Ron looked as though he couldn't believe those words had actually left her mouth. "When you make the best pancakes ever? No offense to the house-elves at the school, but I would rather eat your cooking. Did you happen to get anything ready for us?"

She sighed, crossing her arms across her chest. "Actually, I did suspect you would do something like this, so there's plenty for everybody."

A cheer rose among the group and they hurried for the table, leaning back as their dishes and silverware flew almost angrily to their places, and soon everybody was digging in. Necia had never tasted anything so heavenly. The pancakes seemed to melt on her tongue like butter, and occasionally she discovered a melted chocolate chip that had been hidden inside. By the time she had finished her first plate, Ron and Harry were already halfway through their second helping and didn't look as though they'd be slowing down anytime soon. She had to wonder if they were even chewing or swallowing their food, or if it was simply flying down their throats. They certainly hadn't had enough time to do much more.

After stuffing herself to the bursting point, Necia grabbed her bags and followed Ginny up to her room. Hermione followed a few seconds later, still stubbornly clutching her book to her side. When the door was closed behind them, Necia and Ginny both burst out, "So?"

Hermione paused and looked at them both as if they had sprouted extra heads. "What?"

"What happened after the ball last night between you and Ron? You weren't in the room when I came back," Necia elaborated.

Hermione's eyes darted down to her feet as she mumbled, "Nothing, we didn't really do much. It was boring."

Ginny crossed her arms. "Now why don't I believe that?"

Her eyes widened innocently. "I'm perfectly serious right now, we didn't do anything. We got bored and walked outside to get some fresh air, and because Snape was terrorizing everyone who happened to be outside of the ballroom and he was always between us and the door, we went to Hagrid's hut. He was at the ball, so we ended up drinking tea and playing with Fang, always looking outside to see if we could get back to the school yet without Snape giving us fifty detentions. In fact, we talked about you and Harry more than anything else," she said pointedly to Necia. "Believe me, nothing happened along the lines you are thinking of."

Necia was slightly disappointed, but it was obvious that Hermione was telling the truth, so she didn't push it. Instead, she turned her attention to Ginny. "So, how did it go with Neville?"

Her friend's face took on a rather sour expression. "Bloody awful. He's not any better at dancing than he used to be, and when he walked me to the stairs up to our tower, he actually tried to kiss me goodnight, which turned into a complete disaster. I had no interest in kissing him, so just before he reached me I jerked back and he nearly fell right on me. I tipped over and twisted my ankle really hard on the first step, and in the fall he ended up getting handfuls of things I didn't really want him to touch. So, as you can see, it was terrible."

Necia and Hermione were both diligently trying to restrain giggles, but they were saved the trouble when two twin redheads suddenly popped quite literally into the middle of the room, identical wicked grins on their faces. Necia stared at them blankly for a moment until Ginny made the introductions.

"Necia, these are my brothers, Fred and George. Fred and George, this is Necia Holt."

Both young men bowed old-fashionedly, looking her up and down. "How did our brother and sister manage to make friends with someone who looks like you?" Fred asked cheerfully.

"Yes, after all, none of them are particularly attractive. We inherited the looks in the family," George added, not dissuaded at all by the severe blush in Necia's cheeks. "You must have received every possible attractive quality from your family."

Necia couldn't even speak for a good deal of time, unsure if they were joking, honest, or a little of both. "Er…" _'Sure, very attractive.'_

Ginny stepped in to save her friend. "You guys, stop fooling around. She just got here, cut her some slack. She's not used to your weirdness yet."

"Weirdness!" the twins cried indignantly. Before they could continue, Ginny had grabbed George's arm and was dragging him to the door, Fred following along to save his brother from exile. "Get your hands off –" George managed to get out before she slammed the door in his face. With a sigh of relief she turned back to the other two girls.

"Right. Now that that's over, let's get unpacked in peace."

* * *

Snape approached the tiny building on the outskirts of Hogsmeade with more trepidation than he had felt for a long time. Lucius was in there somewhere, and he wasn't sure how he would be received. Dumbledore had finally decided that it was probably safer to know Lucius's plan before he tried anything, so here Severus stood.

He saw a quick flurry of movement inside the house as he approached, so he was surprised when someone actually answered the door. He would have thought they'd be hiding right now. It was Nott who actually opened the door for him.

"Is Lucius here?" Snape asked calmly, as though the prospect had no effect on him. In reality, Lucius Malfoy was one of the last people he ever wanted to see again. After Voldemort, that is.

"Right this way," was the cold reply, and Snape was led through a series of winding corridors that he couldn't believe were confined within the walls of this house, until he realized that they were heading slightly downwards and by now were below ground. Lucius's door didn't look any different from the others, which surprised him, because his old school friend normally greatly enjoyed elevating himself above others. When the door swung open, Severus found himself standing alone in the hallway, Nott had already gone.

"Who is it?" Lucius's drawling voice called out from inside.

"It's me," he replied quietly, knowing that the other man would easily recognize his voice. By the look on his face, Lucius had been far from expecting a visit of this kind, but he recovered quickly and greeted him with a smile.

"So, my old friend, what brings you here, and how did you know where I was?"

"Dumbledore has long suspected that you are no longer hiding in your mansion, and I thought that if you still had designs on seizing the Holt girl, that you would position yourself nearby. I thought this was as good a place as any to look for you."

A faint smile lingered on the senior Malfoy's lips. "Very clever of you, Severus. At any rate, I'm glad you're here. In fact, you're one of the few people I gave permission for Nott to open the door for. You're the only person in a good enough position to tell me just how talented the girl is at Potions. You have been working with her for months now, you must have a better idea of what she's capable of."

Snape inclined his head slightly. "You're right, she's even better than I first realized. I work with her privately now, and she is much better than any student I've ever dealt with before." At the sudden excited look on his friend's face, he cut him off before he could speak. He realized already that Lucius would want his help in obtaining the girl. "I won't help you, Lucius. It would compromise the perfect position I have at Hogwarts. Where else are you going to get information like mine?"

The other man's eyes glittered dangerously. "The last time we spoke, Severus, you made it very clear that you were unwilling to help me. What changed your mind?"

He hesitated for a moment, then reached into his robes and pulled out the gold figurine that Cassandra had left for him. "I was reminded of old times."

Lucius took it greedily, half in shock as he turned it over to look at his initials. "I lost this just before we graduated from Hogwarts. I remember my parents were so furious that they refused to make me another. Where did you find this?"

"Cassandra left it for me. I found it a few weeks ago."

He looked absolutely incredulous. "You can't possibly mean that you've heard from her?" The pale look on his face made Snape reply immediately.

"No, she left it for me a long time ago, I just didn't discover it until recently." Severus couldn't understand why Lucius had reacted so strongly. After all, it wouldn't be so strange for Cassandra to contact him, despite the way things had ended.

After recovering himself, Lucius set the figurine off to one side and looked at the other man's face carefully. "Am I to assume that your newfound willingness to help me is based on old feelings for my cousin?"

"It's not quite like that, but not far off either. When was the last time you heard from her?"

Lucius glanced at the clock distractedly. "Oh, probably that class reunion we all went to. We were never close, she never wrote me after that. I have no idea what she's doing now."

"Are you telling me that you haven't heard anything, not even from other relatives?"

"No, she cut herself off rather well. It's just as well, I suppose. She's not exactly one of the finer specimens of a Malfoy, is she? But let's not talk about her right now, I'd rather talk about the girl you've been teaching. What's her name again?"

"Necia Holt."

"Yes, that's right. Do you know if she's showed any signs of remembering her mother's death?"

Severus shook his head. "If she has, I haven't noticed, and that's not something I think she would be able to keep to herself for very long. I would have heard about it through the staff if she were remembering anything. Seeing as how I can't help you, what are you going to do?"

Lucius shrugged. "I haven't decided yet. Is she still at the school for the holidays?"

"No, I believe she's at the Weasleys' home. I wouldn't attempt much there right now, though. That family may seem like a disgrace to the wizarding world, but they know what they're doing. Even those despicable twins are quite good with magic, otherwise they wouldn't be so successful." Although he knew Dumbledore wouldn't like it, he didn't think it was a good idea to talk about Necia so much without offering some helpful suggestions to the Death Eaters, otherwise they might suspect his reasons for coming here. He would tell Dumbledore about everything that passed so they could be ready, and with Dumbledore's help there would surely be no harm done. "Actually, you might be better off waiting until her next Hogsmeade trip. At least then she's out of Hogwarts, but you'll still have to worry about her friends. She never goes far without Potter behind her these days."

Lucius folded his fingers and smiled chillingly. "That doesn't concern me, I can work around the boy. Just let me know when the next Hogsmeade date is and I will be ready."

Snape nodded, allowing the other man to lead him back to the front door. "If anything changes, or if she decides not to go, you will be the first to know."

"Oh, she'll go," was the eerie parting line he was left with as the door closed. He pulled his cloak against him more snugly, trying to shut out the cool breeze. There was plenty to warn Dumbledore against now.

* * *

Everyone was laughing uproariously at dinner that evening when Fred and George decided to give a demonstration of their newest creations. In the time she had been friends with Ginny and Ron, they had never specified just what the twins did for a living, but she soon found out they were inventors of the most dangerous kind. She tentatively took the taffy that George offered her and slowly put it in her mouth, thankful that at least it didn't taste strange, but suddenly a very squeaky hiccup escaped her throat. Even more surprising was the purple bubble that sprang from her lips. Now the hiccups were coming in rapid succession, and with each one was a new surprise. Sometimes nothing more than colored bubbles came out, but the rest of the time an interesting array of animals floated through the air, making their respective noises and attacking each other randomly. Soon Necia and Ginny were having a bubble battle, seeing whose bubble creations could defeat the other's when they hiccuped in each other's direction.

Harry had found a much more troublesome invention, however. It was a caramel chew that immediately made the eater a magnet for anything they touched. Currently, both Ron and Hermione were stuck hopelessly to Harry's back, and Fred was taunting him with the chew that contained the antidote, forcing him to drag his friends around as he struggled to reach Fred's outstretched hand, which was always slowly and steadily moving away from him. Mrs. Weasley watched the scene with the air of someone who thought they were above the current situation. That's what made it so funny when she took her next sip of tea and discovered that her lower half had turned into a gorilla. Apparently Fred and George had some liquid inventions as well.

As everyone finally settled down for the night in the living room, Necia found herself alone on the sofa with Harry. She smiled sheepishly at him, unsure of what to say. After last night, it was hard to know what to do from here on. "Are you still sticky?"

He reached out and picked up her hand, letting go of it the next second so that it slid gently back onto her lap. "Nope, I guess not." He smiled back, looking down at his hands uneasily, then tried another strand of conversation. "Are you sleeping in Ginny's room?"

"Yeah. Are you in Ron's room?"

"Mm-hmm. It's right next door to the twins' room, so it should be a fun night. They really seem to like you."

"Fred and George?"

"Yeah."

She shrugged. "I think they're just trying to flatter me because I'm Ginny's friend. I get the feeling she doesn't often bring someone home like this."

"No, she usually just sticks with us," he commented, glancing over at the youngest Weasley. "It will probably be hard on her next year when we're gone. She finally found a best friend in you this year, and you'll be leaving too." After yet another long moment of silence, he lifted his head quickly. "Did you know Lupin's coming for supper on Christmas? Ron told me this morning when we were getting ready. He's become good friends with the Weasleys, and he's a lot more fun to be around outside of school. He's still pretty bookish, though. Hermione will probably be a lot like him when she's older."

"Where does Professor Lupin go during the holidays? Does he have any family?"

"No, and all his friends are gone now too. He used to be best friends with my dad, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew. Pettigrew's the one who betrayed my parents to Voldemort, and Sirius and my dad died, so it's only him left."

Necia felt a pang of sympathy for her professor. "Why didn't he ever marry? I realize that being a werewolf isn't the greatest attribute, but he's so nice, there has to be someone out there for him."

"I don't think he's really comfortable with dating, although I've never asked and I don't really plan to. I think he's really embarrassed about being a werewolf. I think it would be great if he got together with someone, but maybe now he's just too set in his ways to be with anybody. So long living alone probably hasn't helped anything."

Necia grinned, hoping she could lighten the mood a little. "Wouldn't it be weird if he and Tonks went out?"

Harry couldn't have looked more horrified if she had paired Lupin and McGonogall, which was a much scarier thought. "Why would you say that?"

"It's just that even though they have quite a few years between them, it isn't too extreme, and I think she could really help him loosen up. I think they would be cute together. Why do you keep looking at me like I'm talking about something as scary as Hagrid and that woman he's been dating? It's not such a ridiculous thought. Tonks is very attractive, and Lupin—"

Harry's hands shot up in the air as though he were surrendering. "Please don't give me any opinion on what Lupin looks like. Can't you have this conversation with Ginny? Why me?" He looked so helpless and cornered that she had to laugh.

"Because you're so cute when you're uncomfortable." He blushed, but Mrs. Weasley interrupted everything with a cheery announcement.

Brandishing a letter in the air, she declared excitedly, "I've just received an owl from Tonks. She didn't come right out and say it, but she was hinting at wanting to eat here with us, so I invited her to dinner tomorrow. As long as we're already making extra for Remus, I thought it would be nice to set another place for her too. Actually, I've sent out invitations to a lot of our old friends from last year, so I guess we'll see who responds."

A devilish smile immediately sprang to Necia's face. Harry eyed her suspiciously. "Oh no, what are you planning?"

Her eyes widened innocently and she wiped the smile off her face. "Me? Why would I be planning something? If anything's meant to be, then it will happen."

"But you'll give it a little help, right?" he said slightly accusingly, but with some amusement in his voice.

"Harry, you're so paranoid. I won't be doing a thing. Fred and George will."

"What?"

Her eyes darted over to the pair, who were whispering conspiratorially in the corner. "At least, they'll be partly responsible," she teased with a smile.

* * *

Snape eyed the pie in front of him warily. He had never been a fan of anything to do with pumpkins, but he was hungry enough to at least consider eating the pumpkin pie in front of him. Dumbledore smiled in his direction.

"Are you worried your food will attack you, Severus?"

The other teachers that had decided to stick around at least one day longer, McGonogall, Flitwick, Hagrid, and Lupin, all looked up from their plates, where their half-eaten slices of pumpkin pie waited to be finished. If he had been the sort of man to blush, he would have. Instead, his color drained slightly. He hated having everyone's eyes on him. "I'm just not sure how hungry I am."

Flitwick looked down at his toes, which were sticking straight out in front of him seeing as how they weren't long enough to even bend normally over the edge of his chair, then looked pointedly at Snape. "I think everyone here is a bit curious about how your visit with Lucius Malfoy went."

He set his fork to the side, deciding that he didn't feel like pumpkin pie after all. "Is this really the time to discuss that?"

McGonogall finished chewing her last bite of pie and leaned back in her chair. "I don't see why not. I'm leaving tomorrow, along with most of us here, and I would like to hear about it before I go."

He glanced at the others, and upon seeing their expectant faces, sighed with some exasperation and related the events of earlier that day to his deeply attentive audience. The only thing he left out was their brief discussion of Cassandra, but he was easily able to avoid it. By the time he had finished, everyone was done eating and they were all thoughtfully staring down at the table, considering everything he had said.

Lupin was the first to speak. "How can we hope to protect her at Hogsmeade? It's hard to follow anyone with all those students running around, although that may be to our advantage, because it will make things more difficult for the remaining Death Eaters to keep an eye on her. It's not like she's a disruptive enough student to give a needless detention to without raising some suspicion."

Suddenly, something occurred to Snape that he had been deliberately putting off. "She still has a detention to make up for me from the beginning of the school year. I've had a full schedule and haven't made arrangements yet for her to serve it. I could schedule it for the next Hogsmeade date."

Lupin looked at him suspiciously. "Why did you give her a detention?" Before he could answer, Lupin added, "And why did you wait so long? Just because your schedule is full didn't mean you couldn't make her serve her detention under someone else's supervision."

Severus chose to ignore the second question. Although he was sure everyone at the table suspected it, he hadn't taken Lupin's route because he wanted her punishment to be particularly unpleasant, and he wanted to be there to see it. "She received a detention because she got into a fight with Draco Malfoy on the very first day of classes. I nearly forgot about it with how busy my schedule was at that time. Hagrid knows what the situation was."

Hagrid looked surprised that the other man had allowed him to serve as his testimony. They were hardly on speaking terms. "Tha's right, it 'appened outside of me hut. Don't really seem like her, but that was a hard time on everyone, not jus' her. Couldn't imagine her doin' somethin' of the sort now."

McGonogall nodded in agreement. "I'm of that opinion as well. She doesn't have the highest marks in my class, but she seems like a sensible girl. What were they fighting about?"

Snape shrugged. "I don't remember anymore, but I'm sure they were both to blame. From what I've seen, they don't get along well." He didn't really want to tell the story about Draco's sexual harassment. While he despised the boy's father, he would always prefer the Slytherin students, and Draco was prominent among that group.

"If I remember correctly, young Mr. Malfoy has a long history of problems with other students, and Necia isn't any different from the rest. I'd be more worried if he fought with Potter. The enmity between them is stronger. We would have more than likely found someone missing an eye," Minerva commented coolly.

Dumbledore had listened to everything in silence, but he couldn't remain quiet anymore. "I'm afraid I think we should call this little meeting to a close," he said quietly. "It's late, and this is supposed to be a happy time. The next Hogsmeade trip isn't for another month, so let's revive this subject at another time. I'm sure most of you are tired." Everyone nodded their agreement, and as they were rising from the table, Snape heard him ask Lupin lightly, "You will be dining at the Weasleys' tomorrow, will you not?"

Lupin nodded. "Yes, and I can't wait. Molly is an extraordinary cook and I always have a good time at their house. Although I'll need to beware what I eat, you never know when Fred or George will add an extra ingredient to your food."

Slipping away from the others and heading for the steps down to the dungeons, Severus pushed all thoughts of that day out of his mind. What was done was done, and as Albus had said, the Hogsmeade trip wouldn't be for another month. Instead, he chose to focus on tomorrow. It was time to relieve some stress, and he knew exactly how he would be doing it over the holidays.

* * *

Necia paced the hallway silently, stalling for as much time as possible before she had to go back to Ginny's room. She had left to go to the bathroom, but she had really just wanted some time to herself. It had been a very full day and she needed time to process everything. As she slowly made her way down the stairs again, a door opened just to her left, revealing Fred's smiling face. "How nice of you to drop by!" he exclaimed quickly, just before grabbing her arm and dragging her into the room. Harry and Ron had joined the twins, so at least she wasn't alone with them. At this point, she wasn't sure if she was ready for that yet.

"What are you guys doing?"

Ron held up yet another small candy in his hand. "Helping them test out some new products. The stuff you tried earlier is already on the market, this stuff is still being fine-tuned." With that, he popped it into his mouth and screwed his face up miserably at the taste. In seconds all of his hair was standing on end, and when George reached out to poke him, everyone heard the loud and apparently painful shock he received.

George shook his hand to get rid of the stinging sensation and grinned at her. "We're trying to harness static electricity into a snack. I'd say it worked well."

Ron spat the candy back out into his hand, his hair promptly falling back down over his forehead. "It works alright, but it tastes bloody terrible."

"That's because we haven't bothered with flavoring it yet, we just wanted to know that it would work," George informed him cheerily.

Ron scowled at the candy in his hand. "You could have told me that before I let it touch my tongue."

Fred stepped sideways in front of Necia, offering her what looked like a short piece of licorice. "Go on, try this one."

At the eager looks on the twins' faces, she asked nervously, "And just what is it supposed to do?"

"It just makes you feel good," was the only vague reply she received. She glared at them.

"Feel good, how?"

To her surprise and very soon to be horror, George stepped forward with a very mature and instructor-like attitude and explained, "We all have those senses which we enjoy: those that tell us we're eating a scrumptious meal, or that a bouquet of flowers smells nice. However, there is one sensation that is undisputedly a favorite among humans, and that is of arousal." Harry and Ron evidently had been just as much in the dark as Necia had been, judging by the stunned looks on their faces. "We've been developing a more mature line of items for adult wizards only. This one is especially designed for women, but we haven't been able to test it out yet. It just wouldn't feel right asking Mum or Ginny to try it; besides, Ginny's underage, and I don't think Hermione would be very open to the idea. How about you?"

Necia could only stare at him in shock. "But you've only known me a day, and you already think we're on good enough terms to give this to me? I don't think I'm that comfortable here yet."

She tried to give them back the licorice piece, but neither one would accept it. "You can just hold onto it. If you don't feel like trying it in front of us, that's perfectly understandable, so we'll leave it with you to try it at your own convenience."

So embarrassed that she was no longer able to look at any of them, she quickly opened the door. "I think I've stayed up late enough as it is. I'm going to bed." As soon as she was away from their room, she shoved the treat into her pocket. Although she had no intention of using it herself, it seemed a waste to just throw it out. Maybe she'd hand it off to someone else later who would appreciate it. Just before she reached Ginny's room, someone grabbed her arm. She whirled around to find Harry standing directly behind her. After looking around them for anyone listening, Harry pulled her into a corner.

"Listen, we never got the chance to talk about last night, and earlier I felt like it was really affecting everything we said to each other, because nothing really felt the same. I just want you to know that if it freaked you out at all, I'm perfectly okay with us just being friends." While his words were noble, she could tell by his eyes that he didn't just want to be friends with her. Beyond all physical attraction, he genuinely cared about her.

"Harry, I have no intention of going back to being friends right now. Yes, I'm still a little uneasy about what happened last night, but we're both pretty mature, so I don't think it will take long to get over it. Don't worry, with how much fun this holiday is going to be, it'll be the last thing on my mind. Well, not the last thing, but you know what I mean."

He smiled and kissed her on the forehead, squeezing her shoulders gently in relief. "I guess I'm just not good at handling stuff like this. You can probably tell it's not something I usually do."

"It's the same here," she replied. _'Okay, this is_ really _awkward,'_ she thought queasily as they stood and stared at each other anxiously for a minute. "I really should get to bed."

"Me too." After hesitating slightly, he leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips, whispering "Goodnight" before he headed back down the hall. She smiled and entered Ginny's room. As strange as that was, it really had helped her. The fact that Harry didn't really know what he was doing only made her feel more comfortable with the situation, because she felt like she wasn't so alone in her feelings. Hopefully by tomorrow things would be back to normal like she had told him.


	11. Christmas Tidings

****

Haunted

By Be Boring

****

Chapter 10: Christmas Tidings

Necia grunted as someone poked her roughly in the side. "Get up!" When she didn't move, that someone jumped right on top of her. "Wake up, I want presents!" _'Presents? Christmas!'_ Necia's eyes opened instantly and she sat up, nearly knocking heads with Ginny, who had already pulled a robe on so they could go downstairs. Necia, still only half awake, fumbled with her robe and followed the other two girls out into the hallway.

"Are the boys up yet?" she asked.

Ginny and Hermione both laughed. "If they aren't, I'll give up reading," Hermione cracked, making the other two girls look at each other and smile.

When they reached the living room, the twins were immediately on top of them. "What took you so long?"

"Mum wouldn't let us open anything until you got here!"

Watching their excitement as they dashed back to their presents, Necia had a difficult time believing that they were nearly twenty years old. She sat back in one of the chairs, not really expecting anything, but Harry called her over. "You've got a pile here, or don't you want to open it?"

She ran over and sat down in front of the stack of presents he directed her to. Who had gotten her anything? She reached in and pulled out the first thing she touched. It was from Hagrid. _'What could he have gotten me?'_ she wondered, not having expected something from him. She had bought him a present, but only as a thank you for how kind he had been to her during the school year. Ripping away the paper, she smiled when she found herself holding a book on magical creatures. When she flipped through it briefly, she realized that it didn't include everything, just the animals that she had mentioned to him that she liked. Overwhelmed by the kind action, she had a hard time opening her next present, which was from Hermione. Another book, which didn't really surprise her, containing a list of very complicated but useful potions.

To her surprise, Mrs. Weasley had gotten her a gift: a perfect chocolate replica of a cauldron filled with Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. At least that was one she didn't feel as guilty about, because she had bought her some beautiful little silver earrings as a thank you for being invited to her house for the holidays. Next she opened Ginny's present, which was a box of chocolate frogs and a silver bracelet which looped a few times around her arm and glittered wildly under the light. Ron had bought her some more chocolate frogs and a moving figurine of a Flequorn, which stomped proudly all over her lap and glared up at her as though trying to hypnotize her like its life-size counterpart. Harry's gift was a charm bracelet that could only be worn by the owner, otherwise it would shrink while the offending thief tried to put it on until it wasn't even suitable to be a ring. One present that she had expected even less than Hagrid's was Lupin's, which was a book filled with useful countercurses. _'Wow, I sure got a lot of books.'_ It didn't bother her, though. She didn't mind reading as long as it was something interesting.

Once everyone else finished opening their presents, everyone took off outside to celebrate with a few magical firecrackers that Fred and George were too impatient to wait until nightfall to use. They did manage to set aside half to use that evening, but they couldn't resist using the rest right away. They had been designing these fireworks for weeks to make Christmas just a little more fun. While everyone was cheering as each firecracker went off, Necia leaned against the side of the house and allowed her mind to wander. Perfectly content with the entire world, she couldn't imagine anyone else having such a perfectly ordinary yet wonderful Christmas morning as the Weasley family had enjoyed.

* * *

Many miles away, restlessly pacing around an ancient, rotting room at the Porter's Inn, Severus Snape was having just about the opposite kind of morning as Necia Malfoy. He couldn't even convince himself to look in the direction of the woman on the bed, who was perfectly oblivious to the world around her. He had long ago learned to detach those common feelings of affection from the act of sex, yet he had made a mistake. He had let the damn whore spend the night. Why had he done it? Usually he sent them off directly after he had finished, but not last night. Last night he had found the warmth of her body too irresistible to just let go, so he had let her sleep next to him. No, not let her. Asked her.

As she rolled over on the bed, finding the empty warm spot that he had so recently vacated, his eyes rested on her hair. Blonde. It was always blonde. He knew perfectly well that he was torturing himself with the thought of Cassandra, always wishing he would wake up one morning to find her next to him instead of the sluts that he always found, but every time he reaffirmed the truth of her absence, another part of him melted away. He was getting older, and the last struggling, desperate hopes for happiness were starting to fade away. His only relief was the holidays, when he could run from Hogwarts and find someone who was only too willing to spend the night with him. They seemed to understand as well as he did what the end result would be; they would reach their climax and allow that night to be just a distant memory.

When she finally did wake up, she seemed to understand that he didn't want her to stick around, and without any parting words, she grabbed her clothes and left. There were no injured feelings, that was just the way things went. He waited for a few minutes, then quickly dressed himself and headed out the door. He needed fresh air, and the fact that the Porter's Inn was situated right on the shoreline was an added bonus.

Just as he passed the front desk, the old man behind it called out, "Hey, you!" Decorum and manners were not his specialty. When Severus paused and turned around, he brandished a letter at him. "You've got mail. The damn owl that brought it nearly broke my window trying to deliver it."

Without a word of apology for the damage, which, after all, wasn't his fault, he took the letter and continued out the door. He rolled his eyes when he saw Molly Weasley's curly writing. Ever since the Order had been forced to rejoin, she insisted on trying to invite them over for dinner on special occasions, even though they were hardly as active now as they had been last year. The thought of eating dinner with the Weasleys, that infuriating Granger girl, Potter, and now Necia was the most unappealing proposition he had heard in the long time. He could hardly think of a more effective torture.

"Hey, watch it!" snapped a very angry voice as he just barely avoided running into its owner. He had been staring at the letter as he walked and hadn't been paying much attention to where he was going. Dropping the letter in surprise, he found himself whirling angrily on Nymphadora Tonks. Startled at the sight of her, he couldn't even spit out the cold insult that had been so ready on his lips just a moment before. When she realized just who had nearly collided with her, a bright smile popped out on her face. As much of a drag as Snape always was, she thoroughly enjoyed irritating him. After all, it was so easy, and he didn't dare retaliate while he was working for Dumbledore. "Hey, what's up?"

Severus glanced around, wishing she would change her hair color. People were staring at them, obviously wondering what such an extremely colorful woman like Tonks was doing with someone as dark and drab as him. As though she had read his mind, she scrunched up her face and wiggled her nose, lengthening her short, spiky pink hair until it was shoulder length and turning it to a light, sandy brown. "Actually, I have somewhere important to be, if you'll excuse me," he grunted uncomfortably, trying to step around her.

"Not so fast," she said quickly, blocking his path around her. Her eyes darted towards the now damp letter lying in the snow at their feet. "I take it you were invited to Molly's for Christmas dinner? Are you going?"

His lip curled up instinctively. "No, I'd rather dine with the Death Eaters."

She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, hating how he always seemed to sabotage his own happiness. She didn't like him very much, but she did feel slightly sorry for him. Who wouldn't pity someone who probably hadn't felt the glow of joy in so many years? Had he ever been really happy? While she realized that he didn't like the Weasleys, she couldn't imagine how being around such cheerful people could make anything worse. "I really think you should go, and I'm not the only one who thinks so. In fact, I'm going to follow you around until you agree."

Now there was a horrible thought. Studying her cautiously, a small voice in the far recesses of his mind whispered, _'Hmm, I wonder if she would turn her hair blonde for me. She's very attractive.'_ It didn't take long for him to throw those thoughts out in revulsion. That was an even worse thought than her following him around. For a long time he weighed the consequences of both answers he could give, one of which was the nastiest curse he could think of that wasn't illegal. Tonks could easily be the most annoying woman in the world if she chose to be, and unquestionably her worst trait was that she wasn't intimidated by him at all, but if he lost his temper and cursed her into the thirtieth century, Dumbledore would never forgive him.

Instead of answering her, he turned on his heel and began sweeping determinedly toward the Porter's Inn. The only way to avoid both consequences of this ultimatum was to get away from her as fast as possible, and the Porter's Inn had protective charms on the room doors to keep unwanted visitors out. If she broke through them, he could enjoy watching her get arrested. At least that would make for a merry Christmas.

Just before he reached the door with a persistent Tonks on his heels, a burst of fire erupted mere inches from his nose and a roll of parchment dropped onto the welcome mat before the door. As he bent down to pick it up, Tonks chuckled, "I told you I wasn't the only one who thought you should go to the Weasley's." Ignoring her, he unrolled the parchment and read with a grimace:

I encouraged Molly to invite you, just as I am now encouraging you to go.  
Not all of your holiday has to be spent in the shadows.

Sincerely,  
Albus Dumbledore

So Tonks hadn't confronted him just out of her usual annoying impulses. Taking a moment to study the handwriting just to make sure it was authentic, he muttered, "Fine, I'll go, but you can be the one to tell Molly I'm coming. It was only a polite invitation at Dumbledore's suggestion, I'm sure she didn't really wish for me to come." The only positive aspect he could come up with for this situation was that the younger group would be horrified at the sight of him. After all, they would never be expecting this.

"Molly may be polite, but only to an extent. She wouldn't have invited you if she weren't sincere," Tonks stated pointedly as she turned away, hurrying off to send a quick owl to Mrs. Weasley. Severus watched her go with a resigned sigh. He was on a roll so far this morning. How many other torture methods could he conjure up before dinner?

* * *

As Mrs. Weasley finished setting the table, which she had done much earlier than was needed, as Lupin and Tonks wouldn't show up for at least another half hour, Necia was contemplating that evening's coming events. She hadn't forgotten her conversation with Harry about Lupin, and she was determined to go through with it. She already had a plan. After talking to Fred and George and finding out about their different inventions, she decided on one that they hadn't quite placed on the market yet and could be perfectly hidden in a meal, their Smile-On Croutons. They had given one to Ron on their third night of the holidays, and quite suddenly he was the happiest person in the world. In fact, Fred and George had taken to placing Cheering Charms on many little toppings for meals. It was originally intended to be for meetings which took place over dinner. Rather than having to spend your meal talking to your dreadfully boring boss, you could simply add one of the toppings to your food and enjoy the rest of your time blissfully unaware of the dullness pressing in around you. Of course, it didn't take much to make anyone perfectly cheery, so overdosing was all too easy to do. She only wanted to make them happy enough to give one another a chance, not become positively giddy.

After stuffing two of the croutons into her pocket, Necia headed into the kitchen to see if Mrs. Weasley needed help. "No, dear, I'm just fine," was the quick reply as the older woman struggled to keep everything cooking without interfering with everything else around it.

"Are Professor Lupin and Tonks still coming?"

"Yes, dear, but we'll also have some more company. I sent out invitations to all of the Or… well, some very close friends of ours, and we'll have two more people coming. Alastor Moody and Severus Snape will be joining us."

Necia's jaw dropped, along with her classmates' and Ginny's, who had just entered the room as Mrs. Weasley spoke. They all looked at each other in horror. How could this be happening? Necia only vaguely knew who Moody was from stories she had heard from the others, but why was Snape coming? Didn't he need to suck the happiness out of some innocent children before the sun set? Of course, he would very easily be able to do that at the Burrow.

Everyone slowly left the room, trying not to catch Mrs. Weasley's eye as they slipped away. "This is a nightmare," Ron groaned miserably once they were out of earshot. "How could Mum do this to us on Christmas?"

Ginny's eyes twinkled suddenly, and a sly grin flashed over her face. "You know, this may not be such a bad thing."

Everybody looked at her in disbelief. "_How?_" they cried simultaneously.

"Fred and George have a complete horde of tricks upstairs, and if anything should happen to Snape, we can blame it on them. They'd gladly accept the blame, seeing as how they don't have to deal with him anymore. I think I have a perfect idea, too."

At the devious glint in his sister's eye, Ron asked warily, "Why do I think this is going to be unpleasant?"

"Oh, it won't be that bad, but we all know how proud Snape is. I'm just going to take him down a few pegs."

Necia decided this task was better left to Ginny and her brothers. After all, she had Lupin and Tonks to concentrate on. She glanced back into the kitchen where the food was now flying to the table. It was going to be an interesting night.

Tonks was the first to arrive, greeting everyone with a bright, cheerful smile on her face. "It's so great to see you guys!" she declared excitedly, pulling everyone she could grab into a tight hug. She even squeezed Necia, completely unaware that the younger girl had plans for her later tonight, even if they weren't very serious.

"Hey, what happened to your hair?" Harry asked curiously. "I've never seen it look so, well, _normal_."

She laughed and scrunched up her face, changing it to the short, spiky pink it had been earlier that day. "I changed it this morning when I ran into Sev. I think he was embarrassed about being seen with me looking like your typical rebellious teenager."

"Sev?" all the actual teenagers in the room asked curiously.

"Severus," she explained. "I just hate saying his full name, he just doesn't sound like a nice guy when you draw it out. At least Sev makes him sound like a human being. Not to mention it annoys the hell out of him."

A nickname for Snape that wasn't foul or derogatory? Nobody could imagine such a crime against nature. As Tonks started filling them in on what she'd been up to the past few months, Lupin Apparated before the front door. Harry rushed to greet him, closely followed by the rest of the group. Lupin hugged him quickly, giving everyone else a firm and happy handshake. Judging by his many exaggerated compliments to Mrs. Weasley on the decorations in the house, Necia guessed that he was just grateful to have somewhere to go on Christmas. Not that she blamed him, she was every bit as grateful as he was that she had been able to spend Christmas with the Weasleys.

Tonks glanced down at her watch after everyone had said their hellos. "Sev should be getting here any time now. He knows I'll track him down if he doesn't."

Lupin looked at her in surprise. "Are you talking about Severus? I knew Molly might invite him, but I never would have thought he'd accept."

"It wasn't quite an independent decision, he was under some pressure. I know you've never quite seen eye to eye with him, but I think he deserves to enjoy himself at least a little on the holidays, and I know I always find it hard to be in a bad mood whenever I'm here."

Lupin smiled slightly. "You find it hard to be in a bad mood no matter where you are," he commented lightly, astonishing his watching students. They had never seen him this light-hearted before, he hardly seemed the same man who showed them new dark creatures and curses every week. Of course, they rarely saw him outside of a school setting, and even when the others had seen him commonly in public, it had always been in a serious situation. Necia smiled as she watched him walk into the kitchen. Maybe this wouldn't be so difficult after all. He was certainly open to suggestions right now.

Everyone followed, the students trailing back as Tonks drew near Lupin and he turned to her, looking curious as he asked, "Where were you that you ran into Severus?"

"Oh, I always visit my parents every Christmas, although they had other plans for the actual dinner, so I was free to take Molly's invitation. They live next door to a place called the Porter's Inn. It's a dirty place where people only go when they really want to get away from something. I don't think Sev knows it, but I've seen him go there every year since I started school."

Lupin shook his head with something like disgust on his face. "I know that place. It's filled to the brim with thieves and women with very little respect for themselves."

Tonks glanced nervously at Mrs. Weasley, then lowered her voice so that Necia and the others had to strain to hear it. "Well, that's why he likes it. Sev always finds a pretty blonde to go back to the inn with him."

Horror seemed to float in the room. It was difficult enough to imagine Snape anywhere outside of Hogwarts, but to be forced to acknowledge that he was an actual man with physical needs was almost too much to bear. Ron's and Harry's faces had paled considerably, while the girls all looked slightly green. "She couldn't have waited to share that until _after_ we had to see him, could she?" Ron mumbled uneasily.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Snape appeared on the front step, clearly visible through the glass on the front door. Mrs. Weasley rushed to let him in, smiling and asking if he had enjoyed his Christmas so far. The kids all looked at each other in disgust, but Snape kept his demeanor perfectly unreadable, answering that it hadn't been anything special. He barely gave them a glance as he passed through the living room and headed straight for the kitchen, asking Mrs. Weasley tonelessly if he could help her with anything. He was obviously asking it out of politeness rather than an actual desire to be of assistance.

When everyone was seated at the table, Necia was pleased to see that Lupin and Tonks were sitting next to each other. Snape sat on Tonks's other side, while Alastor Moody's empty seat bordered him. Mr. Weasley was the last to come in, announcing to everyone that Moody had been called in to the Ministry at the last second and couldn't come. Nobody bothered to move the extra chair next to Snape.

As a light salad was passed around to begin the meal, Necia saw to her delight that nobody had grabbed the salt and pepper shakers. She jumped up to get them, reaching into her pocket to grab the two items within and dropping them into Tonks's and Lupin's salads as she walked purposefully toward the counter. Tonks had been saying something to Snape, who looked as though he was wishing the plate in front of him a painful fate, while Lupin was deeply engaged in conversation with Mr. Weasley. Just as she grabbed the shakers, Tonks called out, "What is this? It's not some kind of root, is it?" Just as Necia turned around, she saw Tonks pop something dark in her mouth. "Hey, is this licorice?" In the process of walking back to her place at the table, Necia froze in horror behind Snape and plunged her hand into her pocket, her fingers closing around a rough surface of a crouton. What had Tonks just eaten? _'Hey, is this licorice?'_ As she suddenly realized just what had also been hiding in the pockets of her robes, she noticed something moving across the table, slithering between the towering dishes of food toward Snape. While he was busy unfolding his napkin, a cream-colored candy dropped into his salad directly behind a particularly piece of lettuce. As she sat back down, refusing to look in Tonks's direction, she wondered where she had seen that little caramel candy before.

Nobody noticed when things started going wrong in Snape's corner of the table because he was the last person that everything was passed to, and there was no need for the dishes a second time just yet. If anyone had wanted a little more on their plate, however, it would have been quite a challenge in getting it. The chew, which he didn't appear to have noticed through the liberal amounts of dressing he had added, hadn't quite kicked in as the ham was passed around, but when the bowl of potatoes reached him, Necia watched in a painful mixture of horror and amusement as he set it down on the table, only to have it follow his arm right back up when he reached out to accept the peas from Tonks. He took the peas with his other hand, staring at the new attachment to his left arm with an expression of very confused disbelief. When he tried to set down the peas to remove the potatoes, he discovered that he couldn't let go of the bowl, and now the backs of his fingers were stuck to the table. Necia watched him pull back from the table slightly, only to realize that his feet were stuck to the floor and his backside to the chair. She forced herself to look down at her own plate when his eyes started searching the room, studying faces to find any traces of guilt. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw Ginny quickly turn her head away.

While Snape was being uncharacteristically quiet about his predicament, Necia soon discovered her other mistake was going to be much more obvious. Tonks was squirming around anxiously in her seat, turning rather red in the face and drinking a lot of milk. "Is it warm in here?" she asked agitatedly.

Mrs. Weasley looked at her curiously. "I don't think so. Are you sure you're not coming down with something?"

Lupin turned to her in concern, although the utter relaxation from the crouton was apparent all over his face. "You do look rather flushed. Can I get you something?"

Her eyes turned to him and slowly trailed down his upper body, then she snapped her head forward as she realized just what she was doing and mumbled, "No, I'm fine."

Necia felt absolutely miserable. This was the last thing she had wanted to happen, and it looked like Snape wouldn't be able to keep quiet much longer either. Now his arms were stuck to the table all the way up to the elbow and the peas were spilling all over him as he struggled. She guessed that the only reason he hadn't complained so far was because he didn't want so many people he didn't like to see him this helpless. As Ginny had said, he was very proud. He appeared to fully blame Fred and George, if the venomous glares he was sending in their direction were anything to go by. Then something happened that he could rightfully blame them for.

Fred had been juggling potatoes when his parents weren't looking, but when Mr. Weasley turned to see what the others were chuckling about, Fred was so startled that he wasn't able to catch them all, and one flew straight out of his hands to stick to Snape's forehead. Now everyone turned to him, finally seeing the dilemma he had been battling ever since dinner had been served. Necia could only watch numbly, unsure of whether to laugh or duck under the table as Mrs. Weasley tentatively came over and tried to pull the potato off, only to stick her hand to his shoulder, which she had tried to use as a brace.

"Ginny, a little assistance would be wonderful," Molly snapped at her only daughter. Ginny didn't seem to know whether to break down in giggles or run away as she approached the pair. Harry clamped a hand over his mouth to keep from completely bursting out laughing as Ginny's elbow accidentally brushed against the back of her professor's head, only to remain there when she tried to help her mother. When she automatically jerked back to free herself, Snape emitted a low yelp of pain as she nearly scalped him, still no nearer to freedom.

Ginny's eyes could have shot daggers. "I don't care who has the antidote, just get it over here _now!_" She played her part well, and she must have involved the twins in her scheme to avoid getting the blame. George watched his baby sister fume for a moment, then pulled another caramel chew out of his pocket. He tossed it to Mrs. Weasley, who was forced to hand-feed it to Snape, seeing as how he currently couldn't use his arms. When he finally swallowed it, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny broke away gratefully and quickly returned to their seats, leaving a very frustrated Snape finally free and apparently fed up with being there. Without a word, he rose to his feet and swept from the room, not even bothering to close the front door as he left. A resounding _pop_ let them know that he truly had gone.

Nobody said a word for the hopes of preserving some semblance of a light mood, which wasn't currently much of a problem for Lupin, but they also didn't notice what was happening to Nymphadora Tonks. She was trying pitifully to concentrate on her food, but it just wasn't going to happen. Her eyes kept wandering to the men around the table, and finally she threw down her silverware and stood up abruptly, startling everyone at the table except for Necia, who had been watching the progression of her symptoms.

"I'm really sorry, but I'll have to leave," she muttered quickly, grabbing her cloak and heading for the door. Necia cringed as Lupin stood up and followed her out of the room, informing everyone that he wanted to check on her. Necia followed their progress into the living room, heard the front door open and close, and after a few minutes, heard two distinct popping sounds as they both Disapparated. Her face turned completely beet red and she lost all interest in her meal. She barely managed to finish the first serving. The meal ended in complete disorder. The twins dashed from the room before they could be scolded. When her parents had headed off to talk to the twins, Ginny turned to Necia.

"So what went wrong with your plan?"

Harry tilted his head to the side. "What _was_ your plan anyway?"

Necia's face finally began to return to its normal color as she explained, "I was going to give those Smile-On Croutons to Lupin and Tonks, but I didn't realize I was wearing the same robes from when we first arrived, when the twins gave me that licorice…." Harry and Ron both appeared to lose control of their jaws with the realization of what had happened, but she had to explain what the licorice was to Ginny and Hermione. Once they understood and had turned sufficiently pink, she added, "I accidentally gave that to Tonks."

Ginny grinned as she whispered, "At least the Stick-To-You Caramel Chew worked perfectly. I almost wish I had gone farther. If only Fred hadn't let go of that potato, Snape would have been stuck in his seat for a pretty long time before anyone realized anything was wrong, and that ridiculous pride of his probably would have kept him quiet the entire time."

Ron chuckled quietly. "I guess none of our guests had a very Merry Christmas."

"Lupin and Tonks are," Necia blurted out before she could stop herself. "They both Disapparated already." Everyone's look of horror perfectly matched what she was feeling on the inside. It was going to be hard to face either of their professors again when they returned to school.


	12. The Truth Shall Set You Free

Author's Note: It's not like there will be a public announcement that Snape gave Necia a detention, and even if Lucius did manage to discover that Necia received a detention at all, it wouldn't really matter. He already has his plans set and he intends to put them into action no matter what the Hogwarts staff does to interfere. As for the twins, the licorice wouldn't have had the right effect on them. After all, it was intended for women. Imagine the side effects of that kind of magic on a man. Of course, they would find it hilarious if they miraculously sprouted breasts, among other things. Hmm, a new fic idea.

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Haunted

By Be Boring

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Chapter 11: The Truth Shall Set You Free

Snape looked down at yet another miserable essay in disgust. Did kids really think they could get by with writing rubbish like this? It was clear that no one had been paying attention.

Glancing up from his papers, he watched Necia fine-tuning the heat of the fire beneath her cauldron, biting her lip gently in concentration as she worked. He had hardly spoken a word to any of the group that had been present at the disastrous Weasley Christmas dinner. Even nearly a month later, it was hard to think about that evening without the burn of humiliation in his stomach. He hated being made a fool of, and someone had been out to completely ruin his night. At first he had thought that it was Potter or the youngest Weasley brother, but every now and then he suspected Necia. He didn't really believe she had done it, but he would love the opportunity to punish her more with the satisfaction that she knew she deserved it. And speaking of punishment…

"Your detention will be at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow," he announced casually, making Necia jump at the sudden disturbance to the silence she had grown so used to in his classroom lately. It took her a moment to process what he had said, then suddenly her eyes grew wide with realization. He watched as the anger built behind her eyes. More than likely she had made plans with Potter for her Hogsmeade weekend. "Did you think I forgot?"

She obviously had to hold back something much more spiteful and instead replied, "I just didn't think it was standard procedure to wait so long before doling out a punishment. After all, you're only just punishing me now for something that happened on the first day of school."

As though he hadn't heard her, he added, "You will be helping me grade some potions from the first year class. They're simple truth potions, so I will need a live subject to test them on. I have a rather large first year class this year, so it may take several hours." Much less potent than Veritaserum, the potions that his first year class had brewed only lasted a matter of five or six minutes, and their side effects were much less severe if they were made incorrectly. Veritaserum could last hours, and if not perfectly created, could have permanent psychological side effects. With the simpler potions the most you were in danger of was a migraine.

She didn't say anything, she simply glared furiously down into her cauldron and continued changing the heat until it suited her. A brief smile crossed his face at her quietly boiling rage and he returned to grading his papers in much better spirits than before.

* * *

A detention on Hogsmeade weekend for something that had happened months ago? Necia had to use every ounce of willpower she had to keep from lunging across the room and strangling Snape until that smug smile slipped off his face forever. Why had he waited so long? Why hadn't he pulled this stunt at the last Hogsmeade weekend? It just didn't make sense to her. As the minutes ticked away, her indignation only seemed to feed off itself and swell until it filled every cell in her body.

As she reached onto the desk behind her to measure out the correct amount of beetle wings, she saw a platinum blonde head whip back around the doorway into the hallway. _'What is that git doing here?'_ she wondered with a distinct lack of interest. She was too angry about Snape's cruelty to care what Malfoy was up to.

As she continued to work on her potion, however, his head began to pop into the room with more frequency until finally her curiosity overrode her anger. When she finally finished everything she was able to do that night, she packed up her materials and hurried out of the room before Snape could rub it in that he was stealing her Hogsmeade weekend from her. The moment she was in the corridor, she grabbed Draco's arm and dragged him out of earshot of Snape's classroom. She had taken him by surprise, he hadn't expected her to come out of the room at that moment, and as a result his face was still returning to its normal color as she asked, "Why have you been hanging around outside that room for the past half hour? If you had wanted to talk to Snape, my being there wouldn't have stopped you, so what do you want?"

He smirked at her. "I wonder just what Snape would think if he knew who you really are."

If she had expected him to say anything of value, it certainly wasn't that. "Excuse me? You don't know anything about me, and why does anything Snape thinks matter?"

"Well, it's not just Snape I'm curious about. I'd love to see Potter's face when he finds out everything about you."

She didn't see what he was getting at. "What could Harry ever find out that would make you want to watch his reaction? Are you giving up magic and turning to a Muggle life-style?"

Now he tilted his head to the side and smiled with a look of mock gentleness on his face. "No, I just think he would be interested in knowing that we're family."

It felt as though her stomach had charged back into the classroom and come back with something foul from Snape's shelves, because it was currently twisting around in agony. "H-How…?"

His expression was growing more condescending by the moment. "Mother was the one who covered up for you when you went here. Did you really think I wouldn't find out?"

At least that meant that he hadn't known all along. Some of his actions would have been made twice as detestable by his knowledge of their connection. She still vividly remembered his lips on her during the train ride to Hogwarts. "How long have you known?" she asked weakly. If he knew, that meant a world of trouble for her.

"Mother told me over Christmas vacation. Your mother and my father were cousins, so that makes us second cousins."

She really didn't like the way he was looking at her. "Why are you just letting me know now that you found out? I thought you would have rubbed it in my face right after Christmas break ended."

"I was deciding when the right time was to tell you, but I just couldn't hold it in anymore. Be thankful I decided to talk to you about it in private rather than in front of all your friends."

Oh no, her friends. How would they react when they found out she was really a Malfoy? Trying to keep her face as passive as possible, she asked, "So what are you planning to do about it? You couldn't possibly just want to rub it in my face."

"I'll think of something. I don't think you understand just what kind of effect this will have on your reputation here. The Malfoy name doesn't exactly inspire respect anymore. True, your mother wasn't a prime example of a Malfoy, but I don't think anyone will care. Potter will drop you like a hot rock."

"That shows how much you know," she growled at him. "Harry's better than that. He doesn't just judge people because of their name. Telling him won't change anything."

Once again, that damned smirk took its natural position on his face. "I wouldn't be so sure."

As he stalked off, leaving her completely unnerved, only one thought managed to lodge itself in her mind. She had to talk to her friends first and make them understand why she hadn't told them from the very beginning that she was a Malfoy. Waiting until Draco had disappeared from sight down the corridor, she took off for Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

Severus looked up as he heard footsteps heading down the corridor, surprised when Draco Malfoy walked past looking very pleased with himself. A few minutes later, Necia Holt passed by as well, looking rather pale. Had they just been talking? He didn't like the idea of that, Lucius had made it sound as though he had a plan for making sure Necia went on her Hogsmeade weekend, as well as separating her from Potter. It hadn't really occurred to him that Draco could be part of this plan. What other reason would Draco have for talking to her? She hadn't looked angry when she passed by his room, just a little panicky, which wasn't her usual reaction to conversations with the Slytherin terror. He, as well as the rest of the teachers, had seen them fight multiple times, never with good results. If their conversation had taken a different turn this time, then maybe whatever plan Lucius had was being put into action. _'But I gave her a detention. Hopefully she won't be stupid enough to skip it.'_ Of course, he wouldn't put anything past someone associated with Harry Potter.

He sighed and began putting the essays away. He just wasn't in the mood to look at them anymore, and besides, it would probably be prudent to tell Dumbledore what he suspected.

As he entered the brilliantly glittering office, his eyes landed on the headmaster, who was stroking Fawkes. The phoenix was apparently about to burst into flames again, he looked positively ancient. He cleared his throat, but Dumbledore didn't turn. Instead, he asked quietly, "Do you have news for me, Severus?"

How did that man always know what was going on? "It's not so much news as a concern. I told Ms. Holt about her detention, but shortly after she left my room I believe she had a conversation with Draco Malfoy. Lucius may be planning to use the boy to make sure that she goes to Hogsmeade this weekend. What are we going to do if she decides to skip my detention? You said it yourself, it's very hard to keep an eye on someone in Hogsmeade when all the students are there, but if for some reason she's with young Mr. Malfoy, it will be easier for Lucius to get to her."

Dumbledore nodded gravely, never removing his eyes from Fawkes, who was looking older by the minute. "Ms. Holt seems like an upstanding girl, I would hope that nothing Mr. Malfoy could say would deter her from going to detention, and from there I will leave her to you. You know best how to keep a student occupied for quite some time."

Severus was sure that was a light jab at his tendency to make students' lives miserable, but he didn't really mind. After all, that was his intention, there was no point denying it. "She's a headstrong girl. If I push her too far, she's liable to just leave the room before the detention is over and get herself kidnapped anyway."

"Then be creative," Dumbledore suggested with a slight twinkle in his eye. "Normally I don't approve of how you deal with my students, you know that, but I'm giving you permission to be as harsh as you like. Better for Ms. Holt to have a depressing day than for Lucius to get to her."

"Wouldn't it almost be easier just to tell her what's happening? That way she would understand why we're doing all of this, and she'd be much less likely to go to Hogsmeade even if she did skip detention."

Dumbledore shook his head, now finally turning to face the younger man. "It would be too dangerous. You said yourself that Lucius used a Memory Charm on her, which was actually a very good thing, because that means she doesn't remember the details of her mother's death. If we were to tell her about Lucius, it could have serious repercussions if it were to jog her memory. She would fight to remember everything, and with that powerful Memory Charm in place, it could do more damage than good. I am not willing to risk her health over that possibility."

Risking her health didn't really bother Severus, but he would never go against Dumbledore's wishes. He simply had too much respect for the man. Dumbledore had earned his fervent admiration on his very first day of school, when he had stopped a sixth year Slytherin from hexing young Snape with a wave of his hand, reversing the hex back onto its creator. Of course he had then cleared the problem up right away, unwilling to make any student suffer no matter how badly they were behaving, but it had made a deep impression on eleven-year-old Severus Snape. That was the first time anyone had stood up for him.

The night that Voldemort ordered him to poison Albus Dumbledore had been one of the worst of his life. He couldn't sleep for days beforehand, hardly able to bear the thought of harming the one man who had never treated him like some greasy-haired rat of a boy, but rather as someone who was his equal, someone he deeply respected. If they passed in the hallway, he would do more than just say hello, he would actually stop and talk to him if there was time. Dumbledore had granted him permission to use the Potions classroom after hours, as well as giving him access to the teacher's private stores so that he could practice extremely complicated potions. He would never forget the older man's contribution to his life. Without him, Severus may never have become as proficient in potion-making as he was today.

When he finally showed up outside Dumbledore's door, he received the shock of his life. Dumbledore had been calmly waiting for him in the front hall of his house, holding a cup for Severus to pour the poison in. He even remembered the exact words the other man had spoken. "If this is what you want, I could think of no finer way to go than at your hands." After those words, Severus had broken down. He simply couldn't do it. He hadn't lost his composure, he simply muttered that he had no intention of doing any such thing. He spent nearly an hour in Dumbledore's house, talking to him about everything, and it became undoubtedly clear to him during that time that while he possessed the cruelty inside of him to follow Voldemort, he could never be happy that way. True, he wasn't particularly happy now, but he could hold his head high, which was something that meant a lot to him after a long childhood of watching his father beat his mother into submission. At the end of the visit, Dumbledore had proposed the idea of him becoming a spy, which he accepted a week later. He had lied to Voldemort, telling him that Dumbledore was too well protected for him to infiltrate his house, and although he had been tortured grievously for failing to follow his master's orders, Voldemort then let him focus on other projects. After all, Severus was the only one of his Death Eaters who was capable of brewing a working potion.

While the stress of being a double agent was almost more than he could bear, he couldn't make one choice completely over the other. His fear of Voldemort nearly matched his respect for Dumbledore, and only when the Dark Lord disappeared after attacking Harry Potter was he given a rest. Although he had desperately needed the chance to get his life back together without Voldemort's interference, it was another debt to be repaid to the Potter family. By now, however, he felt that debt had been erased.

"What are you thinking about, Severus?"

He looked up, startled to find Dumbledore staring at him pensively, quietly watching his face as the memories washed over him. He shook his head slightly to clear his thoughts and answered, "Nothing important, I just lost my train of thought for a moment."

Albus smiled gently. "It's late, you should be getting into bed at this very moment. Thank you for your suspicions, it's something else we can now keep an eye on, but I think we're done for tonight. Goodnight, Severus."

"Goodnight, Headmaster." With a polite nod, he swept out of the room, relieved that now much of the responsibility had been taken off his shoulders. If Necia decided to do something foolish, it was out of his hands, and he wouldn't be blamed. At least now he could get a peaceful night's rest.

* * *

Necia was shaking as she climbed through the portrait hole into the Gryffindor common room. She had sincerely hoped that she would be able to make it through the school year without anyone finding out her true surname, and the prospect of having to share that information much earlier than she had planned terrified her.

Because of her preoccupation, it took her a few minutes of searching the room for her friends before she realized that people were staring at her very strangely. Some first years nearby had leaned away from her and were gazing up at her as though they were expecting her to launch an attack on them. Lavender and Parvati both looked away quickly when her eyes landed on them, looking very uncomfortable, and the expression on Neville Longbottom's face was indiscernible. She couldn't tell if he was angry, sad, or a little bit frightened. After standing there uneasily for a moment, she turned to him.

"What's going on? Why is everyone looking at me like that?"

Neville couldn't bring himself to say anything. Instead, he gestured towards the table in front of the fire. Confused, she headed for it, realizing as she drew closer that two photographs were lying on the rich mahogany surface. She reached down and picked the first one up. At a glance it was easy to see that it was an old Malfoy family portrait. Her mother, in her late teens at the time, was in the front row, next to a boy that looked remarkably like Draco. When she flipped it over, she found a list of names that labeled him as Lucius Malfoy. _'That's the cousin that Mum went to school with,'_ she realized. Then her eyes fell on the second picture.

It was a photo taken nearly three years ago of her mother standing with her in their garden, laughing with her arm around her daughter's shoulder. Like the first, their names were on the back, and she was clearly listed as Necia Malfoy. Studying the two pictures, there was no doubt that her mother was indeed a Malfoy, and that she was undoubtedly Necia's mother.

At first she didn't know how to react. The immediate feeling that washed over her was of panic at the realization that her friends now knew everything and she hadn't been the one to tell them. It was soon followed by molten fury at the fact that Draco had probably done this even before he had come to talk to her. Had he done that just to give her hope of settling the situation before he could make it worse, only to pull that hope out from underneath her? She whirled on Neville, the pictures trembling along with her fingers.

"How did these get here?"

He glared up at her. "So you're not even going to try to deny it?"

"What's the point? You've seen them already, they speak for themselves pretty clearly. Now I want to know how you all ended up seeing them!"

His eyes burned into hers for a while before he replied, "Malfoy's owl brought them to the window and didn't stop beating on it until we let it in."

"Where is Harry?" Wherever Harry was, the others were sure to be.

"Up in our dormitory, but he's really pissed o—" He didn't even get the chance to finish before Necia tore up the stairs to the boys' dormitory, stuffing the pictures into her robes as she ran. As long as the information was still fresh, she stood a chance of getting them to understand why she had done it.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were all sitting on Harry's bed in a small circle, talking feverishly. When she flung the door open, everything went dead silent as they all stared at her. Her heart felt like it had frozen in her chest at the sight of their cold glares. Harry was the first to speak.

"How could you keep something like that from us?"

"I—"

Ron cut her off. "Are you here as some sort of spy for the Malfoy family? What have you told Draco?"

Indignation was practically sparking from her. "Nothing, I—"

Now Hermione interrupted her, looking more hurt than angry. "There was no reason for you to keep it from us unless you were doing something that required secrecy, and I can't think of much else than what Ron said."

It was hard to make out the expression on Ginny's face as she said quietly, "How closely related are you to Draco?"

Necia was thankful for a question that at least didn't sound like an accusation, no matter how much Ginny's tone of voice threatened it. "We're second cousins. My mother and his father are — were — cousins."

"What else have you kept from us?" Harry hissed fiercely, his eyes chilling her to the bone. "How do we know your mother isn't alive and helping Lucius Malfoy hide from the Aurors, and that's why she couldn't home school you anymore?"

Now her eyes matched his glare for glare. "Unfortunately, my mother is really dead, and even if she were alive, she wouldn't be helping Lucius. They were hardly on speaking terms."

"Really? All Malfoys are alike, I'm surprised you're not out there helping him right now. Was your mother a Death Eater too?"

It was one thing for them to blame her, but to say anything so hateful about her mother was unbearable. "Fine, have it your way. I'm a spy for Slytherin, my mother was You-Know-Who's right hand, and she's hiding Lucius Malfoy in some far away country and sent me here to gather information so that Lucius could come and kill the whole lot of you. I'm actually best friends with my second cousin and I'm dating Goyle and Crabbe at the same time. Are you happy?" Before they could react, she stalked out of the room, not spending more than two seconds in the common room as she crossed to the girls' dormitories. She understood that they were angry, but why didn't they use some common sense? Did they really think she was such a cruel person? Of course, everything was fresh and emotions were running high. Hopefully in the morning things would be better once they had had a chance to think things over.

One thing was for sure. Draco would undoubtedly be going to Hogsmeade tomorrow, and she was going to meet him there. Snape and his detention be damned, she needed to tear her cousin limb from limb.

* * *

The next morning, Severus walked down to breakfast with a slight spring in his step. What could be better than Dumbledore giving him permission to be as foul as he wanted? However, his uncharacteristic cheerfulness faded away very quickly once he entered the Great Hall.

The first thing he noticed was that Draco Malfoy was wolfing down his food at almost inhuman speeds, all the while staring across the hall to the Gryffindor table. There he realized that Necia was doing the same, and there was a whole new glint in her eye that he didn't like; he strongly suspected that her mind was on something other than being a good student and actually completing her punishment. _'Looks like Dumbledore was wrong.'_ Of course, just because she looked like she was trying to ignite Malfoy with her eyes didn't necessarily mean that she would be skipping, but he had never seen her looking so livid, and he felt pretty secure in his first judgment that her mind was focused only on Malfoy.

Malfoy finished his meal first and strode purposefully towards the entrance hall where Filch was checking people off his list so that they could go to Hogsmeade. Sure enough, as soon as she had choked down enough food to get her through the morning, she took off after him, not even glancing back at the teachers' table where she knew perfectly well he was sitting. _'Great, she really is going to get herself caught,'_ he thought with frustration. The last thing he needed to be doing was chasing down some teenage girl, and did it really matter if Lucius got her? He wasn't planning on hurting her, not at first anyway, and Severus was in the perfect position to get her away from Lucius if he needed to. Still, Dumbledore would be furious if he knew that he had been in a position to stop Necia from leaving and hadn't done so.

As he crossed the hall to catch Necia before Filch let her go out the door, he overheard something that made him stop in his tracks. Two Gryffindor second years were whispering excitedly, and he clearly heard the words "lying all this time" and "Necia Malfoy." He turned his withering gaze onto them and asked quickly, "What did you say?"

Both kids looked up at him in sheer horror, then as though she couldn't stop her mouth, one of them babbled quickly, "That Necia Holt girl has been lying about her name. She's actually a Malfoy."

This was certainly news to him. "When did you find this out?"

"L-Last night," the other girl stuttered, both of them looking as though they wished they could just disappear on the spot.

So that was what they had been talking about last night. He was completely caught off guard about the fact that Necia was a Malfoy, which meant Lucius was going after one of his own family members, but now he could see why Lucius had been so confident about being able to capture her. There was no doubt that Draco had actually been the one to let the information slip to the Gryffindors, so that's why she was after him, and it would easily separate her from Potter, who wouldn't forgive her. At least not this soon. But why hadn't Lucius shared this little tidbit of information with him?

Just before Necia managed to step out the doors, he reached out and grabbed her arm. "Aren't you forgetting something?" he said in his quiet, deadly tone of voice. The fierceness in her eyes took him by surprise, but she finally wrenched her arm from his grip and stormed off in the direction of the dungeons. As he followed, it occurred to him that he had never seen a Malfoy that wasn't blonde. Now that he knew, he could certainly see the resemblance, especially in her eyes, and now it made sense to him why he had seen some similarities to Cassandra when Necia had first entered the Three Broomsticks before school. They were related, of course they would look somewhat alike. Malfoys were an easy group to pick out of a crowd.

When he entered his classroom, she was already seated huffily in one of the front seats, apparently waiting for him to get everything over with. He took his time bringing out the tumblers for her to sample each potion, making sure he had antidotes on hand if anything went wrong. When she took a quick swallow of the first sample, he wasted no time in ruining her morning worse than it already was, although he decided to start in with a few lighter questions first.

"Which Hogwarts house are you in?"

"Gryffindor."

"What year are you?"

"Seventh."

"When is your birthday?"

"March 1st."

"What is your name?"

"Necia," she said quickly, obviously working hard to hold back from saying the entire thing. After all, it wasn't a lie, so the potion couldn't stop her.

"Your full name?" he asked snidely, enjoying the flare that once again rose in her eyes.

"Necia Elena Malfoy," she snapped, her eyes now searching his face for a reaction. He didn't give her the satisfaction, he just nodded and scribbled something down on his grade sheet. He had all day to piss her off more, but he didn't feel like holding back right now.

"Why did you say your surname was Holt?"

"Because I was aware of how Malfoys are thought of in the wizarding world and I didn't want to deal with that."

"But it's rather difficult to just lie about your name, especially when signing up for school. You would have needed papers stating that you were indeed a Holt. How did you manage to do it?"

"I didn't, another relative did."

"Which relative?"

"Narcissa Malfoy."

That made sense, Lucius would have had his wife keep their connection a secret. Then something else occurred to him. Lucius had killed this girl's mother, so had he actually killed one of his own relatives, or had Necia's mother married into the family? "What else has Mrs. Malfoy done for you?"

"She paid for me to get into Hogwarts, she arranged for me to stay at the White Charm Inn before school started, and she wrote a note giving me permission to go to Hogsmeade."

Of course, otherwise Necia would never have been in a position to be captured. Then again, perhaps it was just something to earn her gratitude. After all, they couldn't have possibly known at the time how they would be using her Hogsmeade weekends. "Why were you planning on skipping this detention today?"

If looks could kill… "I was going to talk to Draco Malfoy."

"Why?"

"Because he told everyone my real last name."

"And how did he do it? It would have taken more than just his word to convince everyone."

"He had pictures of my mother and I and of the Malfoy family with our names on the back. There's really no room for doubt."

Now he was fighting away a smile. "How did Potter react?"

She was obviously struggling not to answer, but even refusing to reply was considered lying under a truth serum, so she finally mumbled, "He wasn't very pleased."

"Just how close were you to Potter?" That question wasn't entirely appropriate, but he couldn't help himself. Anything to make her more uncomfortable than she already was.

She apparently agreed with him about how unnecessary his question was, but as she couldn't lie, she was forced to spit out, "We've been dating." Once again, not a lie, but evidently not the entire truth.

He really didn't think he could get away with asking much more on the subject. "How have you become as good with potions as you are? Your mother apparently learned a great deal after finishing at Hogwarts, if this is indeed where she went."

"Yes, she went to Hogwarts, and she studied Potions afterwards when she went to a private university."

"What did she do for a living?"

"She made potions for the Ministry, and I believe she worked against You-Know-Who."

Strange, a Malfoy working _against_ Voldemort. He didn't remember hearing anything about that. Then again, Lucius had said that her mother was providing antidotes for his poisons. "Was it common knowledge that she was working for the Ministry?"

"No, she always remained anonymous. With the rest of the family supporting the Death Eaters, she couldn't very well make her position public, could she?"

The potion would be wearing off soon, and he could see her becoming fidgety in her seat. It would take a long time to get through all the potions. She apparently was just appreciating how _much_ time it would take. That's why it didn't really surprise him when, as he was reaching for the second tumbler, she pulled out her wand and snapped, "_Reducto!_" at the vials on the desk. As he threw up his arms to protect his face from the shards of glass, Necia jumped to her feet and fled out the door before he could do anything.

Something flew out of her robes as she ran, landing just before the doorway. He quickly strode after her, stopping only to reach down and pick up what appeared to be two pictures from the floor. As he held up the first, it was easy to see that this was a Malfoy family portrait, with Lucius standing in the front row. His breath caught in his throat briefly as his eyes landed on Cassandra, forcing a smile while looking as though she'd like to stand next to anyone but her arrogant cousin. Then his eyes fell on the second picture.

Necia was very easily recognizable, although slightly younger, but it was the older witch who caught his eye. Even after so many years of aging he could tell who she was without having to think about it. Both pictures fluttered to the ground as his grip went slack, his gaunt face even paler than usual and his wide eyes focusing blankly on the opposite wall. Necia wasn't just related to Cassandra, she was her daughter! He leaned heavily against the door frame, very quickly doing the math in his head. Necia was in her seventh year and she had said herself that her birthday was the first of March, which meant she would be turning eighteen in just over a month. Eighteen years ago was 1979, which placed her conception somewhere around June of 1978. He still remembered the witch's words from the Three Broomsticks. _"Actually, she reminds me slightly of that Sirius Black, with all of her dark hair. She has a bit of that lean build as well."_ Yes, Necia certainly did resemble Sirius. No wonder she had made such an instant connection with Harry Potter, he may have sensed her connection to his godfather. He knew there was a slight possibility that Necia wasn't actually Sirius's daughter, but just one look at her picture told him otherwise.

When he had finally collected himself enough to once again take in his surroundings and impress upon himself just what was happening, he knew he had to get to Hogsmeade at once. Now his mind wasn't on Necia. Lucius's face loomed in his mind, and he knew he had to confront the other man. Everything he had learned made one fact very clear: Cassandra was dead, and Lucius had killed her. He wasn't going to let that slide by.


	13. To Scorn a Malfoy

Author's Note: I don't believe I've missed the point at all. The circle of Death Eaters and their informants is much smaller, so at Hogwarts it's basically Draco they have to worry about, and how is he going to find out? Even if he found out that she had a detention, how would he know Snape gave it to her? Necia wouldn't talk to him about something like that, and for all the reasons you've said, Snape isn't going to make a public announcement about it.

As for confiscating her wand, when have we ever heard of him doing it before? He's never confiscated Harry's wand, not even after Harry and his friends blasted him in the Shrieking Shack. To me he's more the type to wait for the student to do something and then punish them more just for his own amusement. That's why he's always provoking Harry, he's just baiting him into doing something wrong. He doesn't care about Necia's well-being. If she does something stupid, then he can watch her get kidnapped and have a full excuse to punish her later, although now his mind is obviously far from that.

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Haunted

By Be Boring

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Chapter 12: To Scorn a Malfoy

Students milled happily through the bustling village of Hogsmeade, exclaiming over new items they had bought and chatting with friends, but Necia didn't notice any of it. Her eyes were scanning the crowd for one thing: Malfoy's brilliantly blonde head. She bumped into several people, nearly sending tiny Professor Flitwick flying ten feet with her momentum, but nothing could slow her down. She had to find Malfoy. She didn't really know what she was going to do once she had found him, but the need to confront him about what he had done was overpowering. She even passed directly by Ginny, who was walking out of Zonko's Joke Shop

Fifteen minutes into her search, she spotted him heading down the street towards the Hog's Head. She shoved past a group of fifth years and jogged after him, careful not to slip on patches of ice. She entered the bar with her heart pounding in her ears, hot blood surging through her cheeks as she spotted him at the bar. Their eyes met very briefly, then he snuck through the swinging half-doors that separated the rest of the room from the area behind the bar and disappeared into a room in the back. She followed swiftly, noticing faintly that for once Crabbe and Goyle weren't with him. It wasn't normal for Malfoy to go anywhere alone.

Things happened very quickly after that. The instant she passed through the door into the back room, a vivid red light covered her vision and everything faded to black. The last thing she managed to see before blacking out completely were two pairs of feet on the far side of the room.

* * *

His height giving him a great advantage over Necia, it took Severus much less time to spot Draco, but by the time he had followed them into the Hog's Head, he had already seen the red flash from the back room. Recklessly, he stepped through the doorway, stopping just short of tripping over Necia's limp body. Lucius was crossing the room, but he paused when he saw his unexpected visitor.

"Severus, I didn't expect you to be here."

Thinking quickly, he explained, "I had to make sure this went smoothly. If anything went wrong, she might be able to say that it was Draco who had lured her here, and your son would have been expelled instantly. All Malfoys think alike; if they're going down, they'll drag along anyone that they can, and I know my name would come up. I couldn't risk it."

While Lucius looked slightly dubious about this explanation, he shrugged it off as he pointed his wand at Necia and levitated her three feet into the air. "At any rate, I'm glad you're here. I could use another fully trained wizard to help me. Nott is hiding behind the bar, but he's hardly enough to insure our safety."

"What do you want me to do?" It would be better if he could face Lucius alone. Fighting in the Hog's Head would draw too much attention.

"How good are you at Disillusionment Charms?"

"I know how to do them well enough. If you're going to be camouflaged, then I suggest that Draco should go back to join the rest of the students. We can't let anyone suspect anything about his disappearance."

Draco looked as though he were about to complain, but Lucius cut him off. "You heard your professor, son, go find your friends and try to act normal. I can handle things from here." Looking rather surly, Draco slid out of the room and headed for the street. Lucius stepped over to Necia's other side and looked up at him. "Anytime you're ready."

Without a word, Severus whipped out his wand and gave Necia a firm tap on the head, repeating the action on Lucius next, and suddenly Lucius and Necia were no longer discernible in front of him. "Was that good enough?"

"How did you do that without saying an incantation?"

"Good concentration," was his dry reply.

"There's just one problem."

"What's that?"

"Well," Lucius began slowly, "I'm levitating the girl, but I can't see her clearly."

Severus rolled his eyes and slowly stretched out his arms in front of him, finally coming into contact with one of her legs, which was visible only by the slightly rounded appearance of the floor beneath them. Giving a firm shove, he forced Necia's floating body into where he remembered Lucius's body to be. A low grunt let him know he had found his target.

"All right, I've got her. Apparate to my house and I'll meet you there. It's going to take me a while to get there with her. It's too risky to Apparate with someone who is unconscious."

Severus nodded and popped away into thin air, reappearing again in the front hall of Lucius's secret house. He paced back and forth relentlessly, wondering just what he was going to do when Lucius arrived. He wasn't sure what would be the greater punishment, killing Lucius or having him arrested and sent to Azkaban. There were distinct problems with both options. Killing Lucius himself would leave him a fugitive, and if he had Lucius arrested, he would have to explain why he had allowed Lucius to bring Necia back to the house rather than just alerting the Aurors to his presence in Hogsmeade. It didn't take him long to come up with a course of action, although it wasn't exactly how he wanted to handle things. If it were up to him, he'd just kill Lucius and be done with it, but that wasn't wise.

While he still had time, he quickly searched the house and found a fireplace. It took even longer to find some Floo Powder, but Lucius was never a man to be without something, so eventually he found it in a cupboard on the far side of the room.

Dumbledore looked rather surprised when Severus's head appeared in his fireplace. "Is something wrong, Severus? Shouldn't you be taking care of that detention right now?"

"The girl ran out in the middle of it, Albus, and like I knew she would, she put herself in perfect position to get kidnapped. I'm currently at Lucius Malfoy's hideout, and he is on his way with her. I helped him sneak out of town with her, but only because I didn't want a confrontation with him in public. It will be much easier for everyone if this can be done here at the house."

"I would have been happier if he hadn't been able to take her in the first place, Severus," Dumbledore commented grimly. "I will alert Tonks and Alastor, and if they can bring some backup I'm sure they will be there very shortly. In the meantime, I'm coming."

Severus shook his head sharply, blowing up a cloud of hot ashes that swirled around his head. "No, that's not a good idea. Lucius doesn't suspect anything right now, and I don't want him to until the last possible second. Your presence would alert him far too early. Lucius is hardly comparable to the Dark Lord, if anything happens I will be more than capable of handling it until the Aurors arrive. After all, I know the spells he is likely to use."

Every line of Dumbledore's face seemed to crease even farther with disapproval at the idea, but above all, Albus Dumbledore was a man of sense, and he could see the sense in Severus's words. After a long, heavily silent moment, he said, "Minerva, Filius, and I will gather the rest of the students who are in the village in case Lucius gets out of the house, and also so I will be nearby if anything goes wrong. Try not to let anything happen to Necia."

"I'll do my best, Headmaster." Severus pulled his head out of the fireplace and hurried back to the door just in time to see Nott walking up the drive, his hood pulled up around his face so that his features were left in shadow. He had been forced to open gates and doors for Lucius so that no one wondered why things were miraculously opening themselves and ended up looking too closely. Severus stepped back as they entered the house and remained against the wall until he saw the rounded blur of Lucius's body slip past.

He followed behind them and gave a sharp rap to the top of the blur and the lump in front of it, making Lucius and Necia reappear just in time for him to see Lucius lower her onto a cot in the corner of a dingy room.

"Stay here and watch her, I'm not sure how strong my Stunning Charm was," he told Nott, then gestured for Severus to follow him out of the room. "What are you going to do about Dumbledore?" he asked as they finally reached his room at the very back of the compound. "I'll need you to keep him busy until I can get her out of the country."

"What happens if you can't convince her to follow you?"

"I will try the Imperius Curse first, and if she's too strong for that, then she'll go the same way as her mother." He didn't really seem to realize just what he'd said wrong until he noticed the utter blackness in Severus's eyes. "Am I to assume that you also heard about the girl's parentage? I wasn't sure if it had reached you yet."

"I heard," he replied darkly, struggling to keep from launching himself on the other man before the Aurors arrived. Trying not to focus on everything negative in front of him, which was a considerable task, he asked, "So it was Cassandra all along who was ruining the Dark Lord's plans whenever she could?"

"Not all of his plans, just the ones which involved you. Many of the people you were supposed to poison didn't survive because they realized what they were about to drink and stopped beforehand, but because she showed up and gave them the antidote before any damage was done. I don't know how she was keeping such close tabs on you, but she could counter every move you made. It's strange how things work out. Because you worked on potions with her so often at school, she studied them at the private university her parents sent her to and eventually used her knowledge to work against you in everything you did."

"So you do know more about what she did after school than you were letting on," he observed coldly.

"Of course, but at the time you asked, you didn't know who Necia was, and I felt it was best to keep it that way. After she found out she was pregnant, Cassandra still finished her schooling, but after many fights with her parents, she cut herself off from them, took every last penny that was in her trust fund before they could remove it, and finished at a school in India. During this entire time, however, she kept coming back and blocking everything you did when she somehow discovered you would be poisoning someone. As soon as she had learned everything she could, she moved back here and built herself a cottage just south of London, where she could track everything you did and stop you from killing anyone. The night you were supposed to kill Dumbledore, she was in the house along with the other security that you said was there. I'm not sure if even Dumbledore knew of her presence, but she seemed to back off after that incident. After that, she just lived quietly with her daughter. She told Necia that she was making potions for the Ministry, but that was only as an excuse for how comfortably they were living."

She had been in Dumbledore's house that night? That meant that she had backed off because she heard Dumbledore propose that he become a double agent. "Had you actually been in contact with her before the day you killed her?"

Lucius could see he was on very unstable ground. "No, but I had been monitoring her. I went to her to see if she would change her mind and actually act like a Malfoy for once by helping me, but she refused and threatened to alert the Ministry about where I was. I obviously couldn't have that, so I just did what I had to."

"You told me last time we spoke about this that Necia was in the house. What was she doing while you two were talking?"

"Cassandra sent her out to feed the animals. I believe she was listening just outside the door, though, because she came running in just before everything was over. So you can see why I needed to use a Memory Charm." There was a very long, uneasy silence, and finally Lucius said quickly, "I ought to speak to the girl before we leave," and with that, he swept out of the room. Severus watched him go, frustrated with himself for not being able to do anything. Dumbledore would be proud of him for restraining his temper, but would he ever be able to look back at this moment where the opportunity was so ripe and not regret his own weakness?

* * *

When Necia finally opened her eyes, a blonde man was sitting in a chair next to her, looking down at her with an almost fatherly expression on his face. It was easy to see who he was; he had to be Lucius Malfoy. She slowly propped herself up on her elbows, leaning as far away from him as possible. "What am I doing here?" she asked quickly, her eyes taking in her surroundings. She didn't really like the looks of this place. If this were anything even slightly friendly, he wouldn't have placed her in what looked practically like a holding cell.

"I simply wished to speak with you," Lucius said reasonably, holding out his hands as though to show he had nothing to hide. "Considering my current circumstances, I couldn't just walk right up to the school and ask to see you, so I had to take a different route. How are you feeling?"

"Fine," she mumbled hastily, her eyes focusing on the door on the other side of the room. She would have to go around him to get to it, but the tiny window near the ceiling wasn't looking very promising. "What exactly did you want to talk about?"

He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees in a very businesslike manner. "I simply wanted to offer you some work after you finish at Hogwarts. In fact, you don't even have to wait, I'd be glad to let you start right away."

She didn't like the sound of that. "What kind of work?"

"Potions. I've heard you're rather good at them, and after the recent passing of your mother, I thought you'd like to stay reasonably close to your family, so I couldn't think of a better solution. You can do what you love while getting to know the family that your mother worked so hard to separate you from."

"I can't help but think that if Mum wanted to keep me away from you, there had to be a good reason," she replied coldly, slowly feeling around for her wand. He must have taken it, which definitely didn't bode well for her.

He smiled slightly, then reached into the pockets of his robes. "I thought you might react like this, which is perfectly understandable, considering the terrible relationship you have with my son. That's why I went through the trouble of making this."

It turned out to be a tiny vial no larger than her ring finger. It contained a transparent, green-tinged fluid which sloshed merrily around as he held it up for her inspection. She studied it carefully, but it didn't look like anything her mother or Snape had ever taught her about, so she turned to Lucius blankly.

"What is it?"

"This," he said gently, holding it out for her to take, "is a way to bring your mother back. It's only temporary, of course, because there is no way to reverse death, but it will give her the opportunity to say the goodbyes she never had the chance to make. Hopefully it will give you some closure. After all, when a loved one is taken from us so suddenly, we often regret never having that last chance to say everything we wanted to say. This is your chance."

Necia couldn't ever remember hearing about a potion that would allow you to speak to the dead, but it didn't hurt to at least accept it. She didn't ever have to use it if she didn't trust him, but at least she had it there. Besides, refusing anything he offered her right now didn't seem like such a good idea.

"How is this supposed to help me trust you?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "It's just a gift to hopefully make you realize that I'm not everything that the magical community has made me out to be these last few years. Your mother was my cousin. We were the same age and we went to school together. Her death was difficult for me, too." When she didn't do anything more than glance a few times from him to the vial in her hand, he said, "I think I'll give you a few minutes to yourself to think things over." She nodded appreciatively as he left the room.

She was alone for perhaps five minutes. Suddenly, her door opened again and Snape stepped inside, closing the door until there was only a crack left to peer through, which is what he did. She was in total shock for a second, then opened her mouth to ask what he was doing there, but he held up a hand for silence. At first she had no idea what was going on, but then it became perfectly clear.

It sounded like something exploded almost directly outside their door, and suddenly footsteps were dashing madly everywhere. She heard shouts ring out farther down the hallway, and suddenly Lucius Malfoy shoved his way into their room, his eyes burning as they landed on Snape.

"You betrayed me," he growled, drawing himself up to his full height as they glared at each other. Necia wisely kept her mouth shut, not wanting to draw any attention to herself. She could only watch and listen to everything in confusion.

"You weren't careful enough," Snape replied almost lightly, as though it was an obvious mistake.

"I didn't think I needed to be careful around you. I knew you weren't necessarily faithful to me, but I never believed you would rat me out to the Ministry."

"You did something much worse over the summer. You should have realized that I wouldn't just let that go unpunished."

Now Lucius almost smiled. "You're not usually the type to let someone else do your dirty work. I'm surprised you didn't just kill me yourself."

Snape smiled back just as grimly. "The idea of you rotting in Azkaban with only dementors for company was just too appealing."

"I will _not_ go to Azkaban again," Lucius snarled, pulling out his wand and sending a very strange, pale blue arc from its tip toward Snape. He backed away quickly, moving out of the arc's path, then sent a jet of purple light back at him.

Necia had to dive out of the way as Lucius deflected the spell and it veered towards her, but she had to scramble back to her original position just as quickly as Snape deflected Lucius's answering spell and it flew to her new position. Then Lucius finally spoke a spell aloud, crying, "_Crucio!_" Caught off guard, Snape collapsed on the ground, making strange, low, guttural sounds as his body curled in pain. Before she had even realized what she was doing, Necia leapt from the cot directly onto Lucius's back, hooking her arms around his neck and throwing her weight backward with all her might. He gave a low grunt and slammed her into a wall, knocking her breath from her, then reached over his shoulder to grab a handful of her hair and tried to pull her off. Despite the pain of her hair coming out by its roots, she bit her lip and held on stubbornly, removing one arm from his neck and clawing at his face, instinctively seeking his eyes.

Lucius was spared the pain of being horribly blinded by Snape's interference. He shouted, "_Stupefy!_", forcing Lucius to drop to the ground, completely unconscious. Necia backed away from his limp form, rubbing her aching ribs and glaring at him furiously. She spotted her wand sticking out of his robes and leaned forward quickly to grab it, then finally allowed herself to look at Snape.

It was a very awkward moment. Within the space of half a minute, they had saved each other from Lucius's attacks, yet neither one wanted to admit that the other had done anything of assistance. They were spared the indignity of having to acknowledge the role the other had played when Tonks stepped through the door, giving a sigh of relief at the sight of Necia. "Good, you're all right. Let's go." Necia hurried back to the bed to grab the vial and stuff it in her pocket before anyone could see what she was holding, then followed her with Snape trailing slightly behind, looking at her curiously.

When they stepped outside, they were greeted with a very unwelcome sight. Although it had been Snape's intention to keep things quiet, it appeared that everyone in Hogsmeade had heard about the Aurors going to this tiny house, and it also seemed that they were aware of Lucius's presence inside. A collective gasp burst out as Tonks led Necia and Snape out of the house, although Snape managed to slip back inside before too many people had spotted him. Necia glared back at the empty space where he had been standing, wishing that she had thought fast enough to do the same before anyone had seen her, but it was far too late. A small crowd of students who had apparently evaded the teachers' attempts to take them back to the school were near the gates. Harry and Ron were standing at the very front of the group, and their eyes hadn't left her since she had reached sunlight again. _'Great, now they're going to think I was helping Lucius or something ludicrous like that.'_ Even worse, Draco was also standing at the front of the pack, pale and tense, but also looking grimly satisfied. She dreaded the thought of what he had already told anyone who would listen.

"Everyone needs to clear this property _now!_" came a very irritated growl off to Necia's right. She turned to see a very odd-looking man with a wooden leg and a strange, electric-blue eye glaring out at the crowd, his heavily scarred face contorted with anger at the gazing eyes. "This is a crime scene, we can't have an audience," he barked out, convincing several people to leave immediately. Harry and Ron gave her a very odd look before turning to face Dumbledore, who had appeared out of thin air next to the group and was staring at his students with an unusual amount of sternness. A rush of relief flooded through Necia, but it was short-lived. The scarred man walked over to her and informed her gruffly, "We're going to have to talk about what went on in there. Once we're back at the Ministry, you need to tell us absolutely everything that he said to you."

Her shoulders slumped dejectedly. All she had wanted to do was be alone after her ordeal, but that apparently wouldn't be an option, not for several hours yet anyway.

* * *

Several hours later as the magical view of the outdoors glowed with the violets and pinks of sunset, Snape paced around Tonks's office, where he had been told to wait yet again until the Aurors were finished with Necia. They had been continuously interchanging the two, comparing their stories while making them repeat the exact same words endlessly. He probably could fall asleep in the middle of their questions and still reply automatically after answering those same inquiries so many times.

He had some questions for Necia too, although he highly doubted he would ever get them answered. He wanted to know exactly what the exchange had been between Lucius and Necia, because she didn't seem nearly as upset after their confrontation as he would have expected, and he was also curious about what she had picked up from the cot before they had left. He hadn't been able to see what it was, which was obviously her intention, and he knew that anything she acquired from Lucius would be far from safe. Dumbledore already wasn't pleased with the fact that he had allowed Lucius to actually take her in the first place, and it wouldn't get any better if they found out that Lucius had given her something potentially dangerous.

The thing that had taken him completely by surprise was that Necia had attacked Lucius while he was performing the Cruciatus Curse. What on earth had she done that for? It certainly wasn't out of direct concern for him. Perhaps she had just assumed that he was her way out of there and it would be best to keep him alive. Either way, he had felt a slight trace of the feeling that he had been left with when Dumbledore had stopped that kid from hexing him on the first day of school. People rarely helped him, and help especially never seemed to come when he was in pain. He could still remember Voldemort's tortures so clearly, as though they had happened only moments before, and he would never forget those days after he had failed to kill Dumbledore. Of all things that Voldemort had wanted to do, that was one of the highest on his list. Of course he was going to take everything out on Severus. It wasn't a pleasant experience to be inches from death, longing for it desperately, but always being cheated out of it at the moments he had wished for it most. Although his fear of the dark sorcerer had grown immensely after that experience, it had only strengthened his resolve to work against him. If somehow he could be taken out of power, then Severus wouldn't have to live with that fear.

Forcing his thoughts away from such painful memories, he couldn't help but think about how much Necia looked like her mother. The glint in her eyes, the devilish grin, it all called Cassandra Malfoy back into his mind yet again. Those traits were also connected to Sirius Black, but she looked so much more like Cassandra when she showed them.

"I am absolutely not_ going to do this!" Severus grumbled halfheartedly as a fourteen-year-old Cassandra dragged him down the corridor to the Slytherin common room. _

"But I need you with me, I don't know the password to get into your House," she pleaded quietly, trying not to be heard by Professor Dithal, the Potions professor, as they passed by his classroom. For some reason she had come up with the clever idea after dinner in the library that it would be very funny to charm away Lucius's hair while he slept. His slicked back blonde hair was his pride and joy, and after he had snidely insulted her for the millionth time as he passed them in the library, she was filled with the spirit of revenge.

"If we get caught…" he protested as they finally reached the bare stretch of wall that was the entrance to Slytherin House.

She laughed and finally released his arm, instead crossing both of hers and glaring at him playfully. "Like that's ever bothered you before. You're in this House for a reason, you know. Besides, you've never had any trouble breaking the rules to get back at the Gryffindors."

"That's different."

"How?" After she glared at him for a few more minutes, he finally gave in and muttered, "Imperius." The wall slid open and Cassandra pulled her hair closer around her face as they strode in, but there was no need; the Slytherins were all in bed. 'Which is where I should be,'_ Severus thought longingly. He led her down the hallway to the boys' dormitories, stopping outside of his own and gesturing towards it. _

"Be my guest."

"Aren't you coming in?"

"I've done my part, I got you in. You can do the rest yourself. Remember, I have to live with him most of the year. It works better if he just catches you."

She grinned at him. "You mean if _he catches me." With that, she scurried into the room. Severus leaned against the opposite wall and held his breath as he tried to listen to her crossing the room to Lucius's bed, but she was apparently tiptoeing because he couldn't hear anything. After a while he saw a flash of white light and Cassandra came rushing back out, her left hand clamped over her mouth to keep from laughing aloud. "I did it, and he didn't even wake up!" she whispered gleefully. _

"You do realize that you're only doing this because it's the middle of the night and you're too tired to think straight," he pointed out quietly.

She rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter, I'll still laugh tomorrow. He didn't see me, we're fine."

He walked her back down to his House entrance, nearly blushing as she gave him a peck on the cheek. He had to remind himself that he, Severus Snape, most certainly was not _the blushing type. "Goodnight," he said quietly as she stepped out into the corridor. _

"Night," she whispered back, waving as the enchanted door slid back into place, leaving young Severus in shadow but with a pleasantly tingly sensation on his cheek.

not'Which is where I should be,'if not 

"Severus? It's your turn," Tonks called out. He watched as Necia walked wearily from the room, rubbing her eyes and obviously just thinking of some nice, warm bed to fall onto. Nodding quickly, he followed Tonks into the room. It was going to be a long night.


	14. Confusion Reigns

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Haunted

By Be Boring

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Chapter 13: Confusion Reigns

The last three weeks had been the worst of Necia's life, outside of the time she had spent recuperating at St. Mungo's after her mother's death. She was suddenly the most hated person in Hogwarts, her own friends were still avoiding her, Malfoy was insulting her openly at every possible opportunity and receiving more laughs than even he had bargained for, and worst of all, her identity had been made known to more than just the students. Two days after Lucius was arrested, an article had come out in the _Daily Prophet_ that not only focused on him, but on her possible involvement. Nobody believed that she hadn't been helping Lucius, but Dumbledore had pointed out that they had no evidence on which to arrest her, so they were forced to let her go. She had gotten the distinct impression off Moody during her interrogation that he would have loved nothing more than to haul her off to Azkaban at any moment. The only people who she knew believed she was innocent were Dumbledore, Tonks, Lupin, and Snape. Well, technically Lucius and Draco knew too, but they weren't any help.

To her great surprise, Snape had told Moody point blank during his questioning that Necia was not involved in any way, shape, or form with Lucius, and that Lucius was merely attempting to get her to join him because of her talents. She had heard this from Tonks though, because Snape hadn't spoken to her since the incident. When she went down to his classroom for her lessons, he wasn't even there but instead left his instructions on the blackboard. At least he was only giving her potions to work on, because she really wasn't in the right state of mind to concentrate on an essay.

Unfortunately, she was contemplating going to his office and seeing him tonight. She was convinced that she had dropped the pictures that Draco had shown the Gryffindors when she was running out of his room, because when she had looked in her pockets for them later that night, they were gone. These days her mother was the only thing she could think about without feeling a very strong sense of ill treatment. She had been delaying getting the pictures back because she had the strong sense that Snape simply didn't want to see her, but tonight she had actually finished her homework before her Potions lesson, and there really wasn't any excuse not to go retrieve the pictures now that she was so close, no matter how unpleasant it would be.

When she had finished cleaning up the area around her cauldron, she tentatively headed down the corridor toward his office. His avoidance of her gave her the distinct feeling that she would not be received well when she forced him to confront her. She paused outside his door, her fist raised hesitantly, and finally she gave two very light knocks, telling herself that if he didn't answer immediately, she was going to take off. Perhaps it would be a better idea to seek him out in the teachers' lounge when there were several other teachers around.

Too late.

* * *

"Come in," Severus called out distractedly, staring down at the picture of Cassandra and Necia standing in their garden, broad smiles on both of their faces. He had taken to staring at both pictures at every possible opportunity, torn between his original anger that he always felt when she popped into his mind and a newer feeling, guilt, and even some traces of self-blame. He had left her alone when she was pregnant, even though he hadn't known it at the time, and if this picture and her last name were anything to go by, she hadn't married. She had remained a single mother. Why hadn't she moved on? She was a beautiful woman and she was certainly amiable enough to attract men to her in flocks, so why had she chosen to raise her daughter alone?

Although his mind had dwelt on Cassandra almost constantly for the past few weeks, he had almost completely avoided thinking about Necia. As far as he was concerned, nothing was different there. Anything that might have been in her favor because she was Cassandra's daughter was obliterated by her status as Sirius's daughter and her friendship, although currently on hiatus, with Harry Potter and his friends. The only reason that he hadn't supervised his own lessons with her was because it was rather painful to look at her. She really looked so much like her mother. If it weren't for her dark hair, they would be virtually mirror images. She had some of Sirius's height and lean build, for she didn't have quite the same petite figure as her mother, and the mischievous glint that sometimes appeared in her eye was eerily reminiscent of both her parents, but for the most part, Cassandra was the parent she had taken after.

When the door slowly creaked open and Necia poked her head nervously inside, he automatically dropped the picture and slid some other papers over it when she glanced away anxiously, staring at her coldly. "What is it?" he asked tonelessly, not wanting her to even suspect that he had been thinking about anything—or anyone—related to her.

She looked as though she didn't want to be here any more than he wanted her to be there. "Actually, sir," his eyebrows raised slightly, she rarely used this kind of civility around him, "I think I left something in your classroom a while ago. Did you find any pictures of…" She paused, looking at him hopefully as though waiting to see if he would catch her meaning without her actually having to finish the sentence. After all, her mother was a touchy subject with nearly everyone else in Hogwarts because it was a significant reminder of who she was. When he didn't respond at all, she quickly finished, "Any pictures of my mother? One of them would have me in it."

He pretended to shuffle through his papers and happen across the photograph he had just been looking at, flicking it carelessly to the edge of his desk. "Are you talking about this?"

Necia rushed forward and took it eagerly, and he watched her eyes hungrily scan down the picture before she looked up at him again. He knew she was dying to ask whether or not he had the other picture, but with a sudden urge to hold onto the remaining photograph, he quickly informed her, "That is all I have."

She muttered a quick thanks as she hurried back toward the door, obviously very relieved that she had gotten the photograph back without too much trouble, then paused and looked back at him. She seemed to be thinking something over as she studied him. "Is there something else?" he asked briskly, trying to convey in his voice that he wanted her to leave.

"Did…did you know my mother?" she asked hesitantly. He was slightly taken aback, he hadn't expected her to ask him anything like that. Seeing his surprise, she quickly blurted out, "I mean, you'd be about the same age, so you must have at least seen her in school. You weren't in the same House, but all the same…" Her voice trailed off nervously, then she mumbled, "Forget it, I was just curious." Before he even had a chance to think about answering her, she was out the door.

'Did I know her?' he thought wearily, although with some amusement.

Her soft moan rumbled beneath his lips as he kissed her neck lightly, and Severus glanced up just in time to watch Cassandra's eyes half flutter closed with pleasure as his hands gently massaged her breasts through her robes. She arched into him, reaching up at the same time and pulling him down for a passionate kiss, her free hand sliding over his back. As gently as possible, he slipped a hand under her robes to feel the satiny skin of her body without any obstacles. He felt her breath catch in her throat for a moment, then she began to very gradually slip her robes off her shoulders, completely exposing the upper half of her body to him. He was almost frozen at first at the realization of just how possible it was that tonight could finally be the night when he and Cassandra would be together. It was strange how the prospect of graduating in a few short weeks seemed to set everything in motion.

Cassandra's parents had been sending her daily letters, telling her that they expected her to go on to schooling at a higher level, and the chances that she would be able to remain as close to him as she always had seemed very slim. Perhaps that was what had prompted her to ask him to meet her in the empty room at the top of the North Tower. Nobody ever came up here, it was simply too much hassle unless they were trying to do exactly what Cassandra and Severus were doing now.

For some reason they had never come close to being even remotely intimate before. Or rather, they hadn't done anything beyond a few quick, harmless kisses goodnight. Now, however, as she slid off the rest of her clothes and left herself completely open to him, allowing him to see every magnificent inch of her pale, creamy skin, he knew that this was going to change everything. He would no longer just be some friend that helped her with her homework, he was going to be much, much more to her.

Although at this point they were both as naked as the day they were born, Severus absolutely refused to rush things. He had waited a long time for this, and he cared enough for Cassandra to want it to be something more than a quick roll in the hay, no matter how much that would have satisfied him. His mouth trailed over her body, drawing more soft moans from her lips, but just before he had reached the one place she wanted him more than anywhere else, something distracted him. People were coming up the spiral staircase beneath them.

Cassandra grabbed her robes quickly as they scrambled into a dark corner behind what seemed to be a high chair draped in a dusty white sheet. Severus's stomach dropped painfully to his knees as James Potter and Lily Evans burst in, scrambling up through the old trapdoor in the floor. Cassandra quickly gestured for him to follow her as she slipped toward the trapdoor, which James and Lily had left open in their hurry to be together. They were far too distracted to notice two people slip out of the shadows to drop through the trapdoor, but that didn't stop Severus's boiling rage that once again, James Potter had spoiled something so important for him.

"There are more empty classrooms," Cassandra whispered as she refastened her robes, not wanting to take the chance of a teacher coming across them half dressed. With the prospect of still getting to be with her, he was just starting to get over his anger when Professor Flitwick came waddling around the corner. Both Cassandra and Severus rushed to get out of the way, but Cassandra wasn't fast enough.

"Ms. Malfoy, what are you doing out of bed?" Flitwick asked, looking absolutely stunned to see her there. Usually Cassandra was a model student. As she fumbled for an answer, he interrupted her. "I'm going to have to report this to Professor Sprout, you know." Soon he scurried back up the hall, with Cassandra trailing sulkily after him, glancing back over her shoulder at Severus. She mouthed helplessly, "I'm sorry" before turning and following Flitwick out of sight.

It was strange how fast time flew. Now he was colleagues with Flitwick and Sprout, and the once empty room in the North Tower had been turned into Professor Trelawney's Divination classroom, at her request. Perhaps she didn't know what it had once been used for.

Severus could no longer hold himself back. He stalked to a cupboard at the very far side of the room, reached onto the bottom shelf, shoved aside a jar of pickled toads' brains, and pulled out a small, nearly black bottle the size of his hand. It contained a rather potent Confusion Draught, which he only used when he couldn't take his surroundings anymore. It was very pleasant to not have a care in the world, which was what happened when there were no outside influences, and it often helped him fall into a sleep full of dreams that, while strange, at least were interesting. He didn't often remember what he did after he had taken the potion, but he always woke up feeling somewhat refreshed. He took a particularly large gulp before shoving the bottle back to its place on the bottom shelf and hiding it again behind the toads' brains. As he meandered drowsily across the office towards the hidden door that led to his bedroom, he paused at the desk and pulled out the Malfoy family picture. As long as he was no longer unhappy, it couldn't hurt to look at her again.

* * *

When Necia finally returned to her dormitory, which was always directly where she went because it was too uncomfortable to sit down in the common room where everyone was staring reproachfully at her, she was surprised to see that it wasn't empty. Ginny was sitting on Lavender's bed, flipping idly through one of her textbooks until she realized that Necia was standing there. Necia had no idea what to say.

"I, uh, wanted to talk to you," Ginny began lamely, not quite meeting her eyes. "It really hasn't been the same down there without you," she added after a brief pause.

Necia felt a tiny rush of excitement, but pushed it away, not willing to get her hopes up. "I've missed you a lot, but I didn't really know how to approach you again."

Now both thoroughly embarrassed, Ginny's eyes landed on the photo in Necia's hand. "What's that?"

Necia hesitated, but decided there was no point in hiding it. She held it up to show her. "I dropped it in Snape's room a while ago, I just got it back tonight."

Nervously she watched as Ginny's expression grew very hard to read, then her friend's eyes moved up to meet hers. "I think we may as well get it over with. Just what happened the day after we all found out, when you came walking out of that house where Lucius Malfoy was being arrested? I know what the papers said, and I know what the rest of the school thinks, but I want to hear it from you."

Now feeling more hopeful than ever, Necia rushed to sit next to her on the bed. "I know it seems really difficult to believe because we're family, but I wasn't helping Lucius. That was the first time I had met him. I've gotten a few letters from his wife; she was the one who entered me in Hogwarts under a different name. She said it was to protect me from the reaction that the Malfoy name usually receives, but maybe it was so that they would have some leverage over me, which Draco took full advantage of. Even though I obviously knew we were related, Draco didn't find out until over Christmas break, and he used it to make me so mad that I chased him into Hogsmeade where his dad Stunned me and took me to that house."

It was hard to tell whether or not Ginny believed her, but after hearing the words come out of her own mouth, Necia realized how far-fetched it all sounded. Then Ginny asked the one question that she couldn't answer. "Why, though? Why did Lucius go through all that trouble? Couldn't he have come to see you anytime when you were with your mum? Why did he actually need to kidnap you, and what did he want?"

"I really don't know what he wanted. He said he wanted my help with making potions, but that's pretty much it. Maybe he kidnapped me because he wasn't positive I would agree to see him if he just asked through a letter?"

"What did you say?"

"I never really answered. I was a little too overwhelmed by the fact that he had Stunned me and taken me to a strange place, because that doesn't seem like a very honest thing to do, does it? He tried to convince me…" She trailed off, unsure if she wanted to tell Ginny about the potion he had given her.

Ginny noticed the look on her face. "What did he do?"

Finally deciding that maybe it would be good to get an outside opinion on Lucius's gift, she crossed to her trunk and pulled out the vial. "He said this would give my mother the chance to say her last good-byes, but I've been researching ever since he gave it to me and I haven't found anything that gives people the chance to talk to the dead. I don't even know how it would work, or if he was just lying to me and it's potentially dangerous."

Ginny took the vial from her and studied it. "I don't know as much as you do, but I'm leaning towards your last thought. Coming from Lucius Malfoy, I wouldn't trust it at all. Besides, if he was asking you for help in making potions, then who made this? How can you be sure it's even made correctly?"

Necia hadn't thought about that before. Even if it was really supposed to do what Lucius had told her it would, how could she know that something hadn't gone wrong during its making? She paced the room restlessly, wishing that she had the confidence to take the potion to Dumbledore to ask what he thought, but she was almost frightened of going to see him. He hadn't punished her in any way for lying about her identity, which was fully within his rights seeing as how she had signed up for school under a false name, but all the same she didn't really want to see him. It was funny how many people she didn't want to see lately.

As she passed by Parvati's bedside table, she noticed a few candies lying near her makeup kit. "Do you think she'd mind?" she asked guiltily, picking up one of the candies that was concealed within a very bright purple wrapper.

"She'll never miss it," Ginny replied, reaching out and grabbing one of the candies for herself, but before she had finished unwrapping it, Necia let out a gasp of surprise. The candy had turned out to be a yellow taffy that as soon as she swallowed it, turned her hair a gleaming, golden blonde. "Oh!" Ginny gasped, pulling out her own candy, which was pitch black. "I've always wanted to try these. It's the newest form of hair coloring. Before you actually had to use a potion on yourself or have someone very talented use a charm on you, but these will turn your hair the same color as the candy. It's only temporary though, it washes out really easily. It looks like you got Sun-Kissed Gold. I'm pretty sure this is Hell-Pit Ebony."

"Nice name," Necia commented absentmindedly, studying the effects of the taffy in the mirror. She didn't look half bad as a blonde, although that was because she looked even more like her mother, and as far as she was concerned, her mother had been the most beautiful woman alive. She heard Ginny's grunt of disgust and turned around. It didn't take long to figure out why Ginny wasn't pleased. Black most certainly did _not_ suit her. It made her pale skin stand out much more than usual, also bringing her freckles into more prominence. Normally Ginny's freckles managed to be flattering, but they stood out painfully with the black hair framing them.

Suddenly, the door to the dormitory opened and Hermione stepped inside, staring at them both blankly for a second as she took in their changes. Necia quickly snatched the vial back from Ginny behind her back, unwilling to let Hermione see it. There was a very long pause as they all stared at each other, then Hermione stated in a chilly voice, "I was just going to sleep. I'd appreciate it if I could turn the lights off as soon as I've changed."

"Do whatever you like," Necia replied, heading for the door, "I won't stand in your way." Ginny froze for a moment, unsure of what to do, then rushed after Necia. She followed her all the way out of Gryffindor Tower and into a completely deserted passageway where the moonlight from the window cast eerie shadows on the opposite wall. In the dim light, Necia was pulling out the vial and forcing it open, pausing as Ginny grabbed her arm.

"What are you doing?"

Necia stared at the potion in her hands. What did it really matter anymore if something was wrong with it or not? If it went right, she would get to talk to her mother again. If it didn't, why should she care? It wasn't like anything else was going right, and maybe if it was serious enough to send her to the hospital wing, she could avoid going to class for a few days and just have some time truly to herself. If she died, she'd get to see her mother anyway, so it seemed like a win-win situation. Without answering Ginny, she tilted her head back and emptied the vial's contents into her mouth, swallowing as Ginny lunged at her to knock it out of her hands.

At first, it didn't seem like anything had happened. Ginny stepped back and studied her anxiously, as though worried she would keel over at any moment. Then, as Necia stared right back at her friend, her entire body started to shake. It felt like someone was trying to rip her head right in half, and an electric tingle was suddenly racing the length of her body. Ginny grabbed her arm to hold her steady, and just as suddenly as it had all started, it stopped. She stumbled shakily away from Ginny to lean on the wall, staring around with strangely wide eyes.

"Wh-What's going on?" she asked numbly, her wide, staring eyes now resting on Ginny.

Ginny could only watch her with concern. "Maybe we should go talk to Madam Pomfrey, you're not looking too good." As Necia just continued to gaze blankly at her surroundings, as though she had absolutely no idea where she was, she added, "It would almost be better to talk to Snape, since he might at least be able to tell us what potion this is, but I don't think he'd—"

"Snape?" Necia blurted out suddenly, her eyes darting back to Ginny. "Did you say Snape? Where is he?"

The youngest Weasley had no idea how to respond. Why was Necia acting so strangely? "He's either in his office or in the Potions classroom, but why…?" She trailed off as suddenly Necia's eyes seemed to brighten with recognition as she looked around once more, and without warning she tore down the hall, veering around the corner at an insane speed. "Wait!" she shouted as she ran after her, but it was too late, Necia must have taken off down a side passage, because when she reached the corridor she had just turned down, she was nowhere to be seen. Just as she was about to start searching, Harry's voice called out behind her.

"Hey Ginny, what are you doing out here?" She couldn't even reply, her eyes still gazing down the empty corridor. He studied her face in concern, then took her by the arm. "Come on, let's get back to the common room. We've got a Quidditch match tomorrow, you'll want to be in top form." Still unsure about what to do, Ginny automatically began walking with Harry back toward the common room. Then, as Harry began talking about their upcoming match with Ravenclaw, her mind turned to focus on him, and her worries about Necia faded from high importance. Necia was a big girl, she could take care of herself, and at least Snape would be able to figure out what was wrong with her.

The problem was that Necia Malfoy was no longer in charge of her own body. Gasping for air and following passages that she could have walked in her sleep from the amount of times she had traveled through them, Cassandra Malfoy was making her way down to the dungeons.

* * *

Severus's mind was pleasantly blank as he lay on his back, inspecting the Malfoy family portrait with his fogged eyes. Cassandra looked so uncomfortable in the picture, as though she would really rather not be there, or at least she would like to stand next to someone other than her cousin, who looked as arrogant as ever.

"Sev?"

His head lifted off the pillow at the sound of a very soft, anxious female voice. "Hello, Cassandra," he greeted lightly. He'd had his fair share of hallucinations when under the influence of the Confusion Draught, and although he had never before seen Cassandra, it didn't surprise him that he was seeing her now.

Although he couldn't see her quite clearly, her face looked strangely sad. "You've grown up so much. I almost didn't recognize you." She took several steps closer to him, her eyes landing on the picture in his hands. "What are you looking at that for? Where did you get it?"

He didn't bother to answer. "You haven't changed at all. You still look exactly the same as the last time I saw you." As he finished his sentence, his face hardened and he turned his head in the other direction. He didn't really want this hallucination to continue. Usually if he just focused somewhere else for a few minutes, his hallucinations went away.

"Sev, don't be like that," she said softly, her voice breaking slightly. "You know perfectly well what happened."

"Actually, I don't," he replied stiffly, turning to look at her again. Why wouldn't she go away? "I saw you naked on the floor with Black, and that's all I needed to know."

She reached out and laid a hand on his forearm, and suddenly he sat bolt upright, struggling to concentrate through the haze the Confusion Draught had placed on him. She was as warm and solid as he was, he'd never had any visions this realistic before. Her eyes burned into his imploringly, tears shimmering just around the edges as she said, "You left me alone in that room. I waited for a little while, but you didn't come back and I thought I was okay, so I left. I had just reached the Great Hall again when I ran into him. I had no idea what I was doing, and I couldn't really see very well. I thought…" she hesitated for a moment, then plunged on, "I thought he was you. You're both tall with black hair, and I drank so much pumpkin juice that night that I really couldn't tell the difference, and it didn't matter much. I had missed you so much while I was at that damned university that I was in a bit of a rush."

Her words were only slightly sinking in, he was spending too much time just staring at her, trying to figure out whether she was real or not, but one thing did reach him. "You thought he was me?"

"Did you really think I would just sleep with Sirius Black? He was such an asshole at school, I wouldn't have let him near me even if he were the last man alive. I loved you, Sev."

He simply couldn't say the words in reply; even under the influence of his potion he couldn't expose himself so blatantly, but he managed to get his feelings across pretty well. He pulled her roughly down to him, kissing her with such fire that for a moment she tried to jerk away from him. His lips crushed against hers, and his tongue invaded her mouth almost cruelly, but she knew that was just his way. He had missed her, and his way of showing it was by unleashing all of his emotions in that one harsh kiss. One hand reached up and cupped the back of her head, giving her no room for escape, and he dragged her heavily against him, his other hand sliding down her body to seek out every curve he could reach. Finally, he loosened his grip on her and allowed her to pull her head back.

"What about now?"

Her eyes seemed to be reflecting the painful combination of passion and the long-denied excitement of seeing him again that he knew his must show as well. "Nothing has changed, Sev, I've never stopped thinking about you." He didn't give her a chance to explain further.

After so many years of longing for her, it never occurred to Severus that this was anything more than a wonderful dream. It couldn't be real, it was just something brought on by the potion he had taken, and he didn't want it to end. No matter how real it felt, no matter how salty her skin was beneath his tongue, no matter how authentic her gasps of pleasure seemed as he explored every inch of her, stroking, kissing, and tasting, he never allowed himself to believe this was anything but a fantasy. Even when he finally buried himself inside her, forcing her to actually cry out in a combination of pleasure and pain, he couldn't let himself think this was real. If it was actually happening, then there were questions he would have to ask, and right now he didn't want to have to worry about that. He just wanted to enjoy her thoroughly.

After he had worn himself to the point of exhaustion with her for what seemed countless times, he finally had to give in and drift off into a very relaxed sleep, pulling her against him so that he could enjoy the simple pleasure of her warmth. If there were any questions to be asked, they would have to wait until the morning. Right now he just wanted to be with her.


	15. Black to the Core

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Haunted

By Be Boring

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Chapter 14: Black to the Core

_"Mum? Where are you?" Necia called out helplessly, strapped to Dumbledore's chair at the teacher's table in the Great Hall, trying to make her voice be heard over the jeers of the students at their respective tables._

"The fool actually thinks she's coming!" Draco Malfoy cried out in sheer delight, laughing so hard that tears were streaming down his pale cheeks. Crabbe and Goyle were guffawing stupidly, while Harry and Ron cruelly began imitating Necia's desperate cries.

"Mum, where are you? Mum? I need you, Mum!" they both squealed in high-pitched voices.

Suddenly, someone tapped her shoulder and she looked up to see Dumbledore standing next to her with his arms crossed severely over his chest. "What are you doing in my seat?" he asked coldly, the characteristic twinkle in his eye gone. "Get up."

"I can't," she tried to explain, attempting to lift her arms, but barely managing to move them half an inch. Dumbledore didn't look convinced. As he continued to endlessly repeat his order for her to get out of his chair, Necia heard something over the tumult. It sounded so far away, but she could have sworn it was her mother's voice.

"Mum!" she shrieked wildly, now throwing her weight around frantically in the chair as she struggled to escape.

"Someone please help me," came a very soft, pained whimper that sounded so much like her mother's voice that Necia momentarily paused, trying to hear it better. "Please, please help me." Her voice sounded so weak that Necia finally managed to pull her arms free from her bonds with a burst of strength, they whipped upward with her momentum, then…

Necia's wrist exploded with pain as she snapped awake with a jerk. She had thrown up her arm in her sleep and hit her headboard by mistake. Darkness was pressing in around her on all sides, it was clearly the middle of the night, but as she lay there holding her throbbing wrist delicately, she couldn't quite remember going to sleep. She sat up slowly, now stretching her wrist out to make sure she could still move it. It didn't seem to be any worse for the wear, it was just sore. Suddenly, she turned her head to the side to stare unseeingly around the room. Someone was breathing deeply, apparently sound asleep very close by, and it didn't sound like the other girls in her year. Besides, the breathing was practically right next to her.

Reaching out slowly in the dark, her hand bumped right into something very solid, followed by a low grunt, a snore, then the breathing resumed its original pattern. Necia's hand flew back to her mouth to hold back the scream that threatened to burst out. There was a man sleeping right next to her. Terrified of waking him up, she slid very carefully from the bed and found her feet standing on a carpet that felt very different from the worn rug that lay next to her bed. That wasn't what was bothering her now, though.

She hadn't noticed it before because her wrist had distracted her, but now she became horribly aware as the chilly air reached her that she wasn't wearing anything and a burning ache was aggravating her entire body, particularly between her legs. Staring at where she knew the man to be laying, she couldn't move for horror at the thought of what must have happened, while her mind fought to remember what had happened last night. A brief flash of running out of her own dormitory came back to her, she vaguely remembered the empty passageway that she had escaped to, and Ginny's face appeared in her mind, but that was all she could recall. Why couldn't she remember what had happened?

As her eyes slowly adjusted to the barely existent light, which she now realized was filtering in through one tiny window on the far side of the room, she began to make out the shape of the man as he slept on, completely unaware of the situation. She dropped to her knees and fumbled around for her robes, grabbing one set that were far too long when she held them up, tossing them aside with the sick thought that they were obviously his, and finally finding her own.

She pulled her wand out of her pocket after she had fastened them back on and tiptoed around the bed so that she was facing him. Was this really a good idea? What if she woke him up? It was a chance she was going to have to take. "_Lumos,_" she whispered, half-shielding the end of her wand with her hand so that not all of the light shone on his face. For a moment the distorted shadows thrown by her fingers obscured his face, but then his dark hair and prominent nose became all too clear. Necia leapt back in panic, her wand falling from her hand and the light quickly extinguishing, leaving her once again in deep blackness. Her scream caught about halfway up her throat, leaving her with strange, pained choking sounds that weren't loud enough for Snape to hear.

It seemed as though some invisible force were driving her now, for later she certainly didn't remember picking her wand back up and finding her way out of the room; she didn't even remember half running up to Gryffindor Tower in the eerily deserted castle and blurting out the password to a half-asleep Fat Lady, who didn't even look at her as she swung forward to let her in. Rather than going up to her dormitory, Necia headed through the first door she came to on the stairs, which was the entrance to the girls' bathroom and showers. The only thing she really remembered about this the next day was her slight shock at realizing for the second time that her hair was a shimmering blonde, nearly the same shade as her mother's.

Necia was never sure of how long she spent in the shower, scrubbing her skin to a painful, blistering, red raw imitation of what it should have looked like. She still couldn't remember anything, but she found traces of him everywhere. Dark bruises dotted her flesh everywhere between her chin and her knees, causing a strong wave of nausea that nearly sent her running for the toilets, not wanting think of the bruises' proper name. She didn't want to think about any of it, but it was difficult not to when she felt the constant soreness in her body as she scrubbed wildly at her skin as if she could wash away what had happened, when she could still smell the same husky scent she had noticed at the Yule Ball all over the robes she had worn to his room.

When she shakily ascended the stairs to her dormitory, her hair back to its original deep brown, she felt only a slight relief that the other girls were fast asleep. She simply couldn't deal with anyone right now. _'This is all just some horrible nightmare. When I wake up again, everything will be all right,'_ she told herself firmly, not even bothering to change as she collapsed onto her bed, drifting off to sleep almost instantly. It almost seemed to funny to her now. She couldn't have done anything with Snape. Of course not, this was all just a very vivid dream. Tomorrow everything would be back to normal.

* * *

When Severus woke up the next morning, it was hard to remember why he felt so content. He hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time. He knew he had taken the Confusion Draught last night, but it didn't usually help him out _this_ much. He sat up and stretched pleasantly, abruptly noticing out of the corner of his eye that he had carelessly discarded his robes on the floor beside his bed. He frowned slightly, now realizing that he wasn't wearing anything at all, and a sudden flash of a feminine body pressed firmly to his struck him out of nowhere. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to recapture the feeling, and Cassandra's face very clearly flashed through his mind.

Now it was coming back to him. Although it took him a very long time concentrating on everything that had happened since he had returned to his office after dinner last night, he gradually began to recall everything that had happened. His hallucination of Cassandra had been unbelievably realistic, and even now he couldn't quite convince himself that it hadn't really happened. It had been a very in-depth fantasy, with many more details than his mind usually created on its own. _'Cassandra's dead,'_ he told himself harshly. _'Nothing could have happened because she couldn't have been here.'_

But as he went about his normal morning routine, his mind was constantly pulled back to the previous night. The more he thought about it, the more he wondered whether or not it was possible that he really had slept with someone, just not Cassandra. With the potion, he could have confused any blonde with her. But what about their conversation? That seemed just as vivid as the sex in his memory, and some strange blonde wouldn't have been able to have that kind of conversation with him. He could have sworn he was actually talking to her.

As he crossed the room to grab his shoes, he noticed something lying on the floor. It was clearly an empty vial like what he kept small samples of potions in. There was just enough for one dosage for a person in each one. He couldn't remember taking out anything other than his Confusion Draught, which was in a larger bottle than this, so where had it come from? When he looked very closely he could see one remaining drop of slightly green liquid clinging to the side. It looked much more watery than most potions, the fact that one could see through it was something that was very rare with potions. In fact, it looked more like slightly colored water than anything else.

There were very few potions that he had learned about that resembled what he was holding in his hand, but he couldn't imagine why any of them would be in his bedroom. He glanced up at the clock on the wall. He had gotten up very late indeed. There was no time to examine the potion, he needed to get some breakfast before the Quidditch match. He was surprisingly hungry this morning.

* * *

When Necia awoke for the second time, the soreness had only increased. She lay on her back for a long time, listening to the constant movement far below her in the common room as everyone chatted excitedly about Gryffindor's prospects for winning the match. She felt suddenly sick as everything came rushing back to her. It hadn't been a dream, she had really woken up in Snape's bed, and judging by the pain in her body, they hadn't just been sleeping. Why had she been there? _What_ could have possessed her to do anything with him? Numb shock seemed to roll over her. It didn't feel real, partly because she didn't remember anything, and also because she just couldn't see what would have led to it happening.

"What happened to you last night?" came a curious voice from the door. Necia lifted her head to see Ginny standing in the doorway. Her stomach had jumped into a panicked knot at the question, but after a moment she quickly realized that Ginny couldn't possibly know where she had spent the night.

"What do you mean?" she asked just as curiously. If Ginny didn't know about Snape, then why was she asking about last night?

"That potion," Ginny elaborated, now studying her with concern. "You acted so weird after you drank it, then you just ran off." Her eyes flicked to Necia's hair. "I see you're back to being a brunette again."

Once again Necia vaguely remembered the blonde hair she'd received from the candy. "Yeah, I took a shower and it all came out." Thinking quickly, she added, "I went to the hospital wing last night. The potion made me sick, but Madam Pomfrey got it sorted out pretty quickly. It wasn't anything serious." Now she remembered the potion, but everything after drinking it was a blank.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Ginny asked, tilting her head slightly to the side as she continued to watch her friend. "You're really pale."

Necia tried to shrug nonchalantly. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm probably just still feeling a little off because of that stupid potion."

"Well, you'd better come down and get something to eat, we'll all be heading out to the Quidditch pitch in a little while. You're coming, aren't you?"

The Quidditch match was the farthest thing from her mind at the moment. Then out of nowhere a horrible thought struck her. There was a possibility she might see Snape either in the Great Hall or out in the stands, and right now that was the last thing she wanted. "I wasn't really planning to…" she began slowly, forcing Ginny's face to fall. "I'll think about it," she conceded finally, wondering if she could just sneak out to the stadium without eating and go down to the kitchens later to grab some food. She had gone down with Harry and the others to get some after their match against Slytherin earlier in the year. She figured she'd be able to find her way again.

Twenty minutes later she was hurrying down to the stadium, avoiding the stares from all around that by now were common. She didn't know where she was going to sit, as Ginny would be playing the game and wouldn't be able to keep her company, and she couldn't very well sit with Hermione. Somehow everyone's glares were affecting her more than usual today, which she realized as she was climbing into the Gryffindor portion of the stands. Perhaps it was because now she really had done something to deserve it. _'What would happen if anyone found out about last night?'_ she thought numbly, not even wanting to think about it.

She opted for the top row, which was empty, and watched as the other students filled up the rows in front of her. It took her a long time to realize that someone was moving along the row toward her, and she only recognized him once he had sat down directly on her right. Professor Lupin smiled slightly at her surprise as he folded his hands pleasantly and looked around at the rest of the stadium with mild interest. "The rest of the stadium was full, and then I saw you looking so lonely over here and thought I'd join you."

Necia didn't know whether to be relieved or not. On the one hand, now she wasn't alone, but she also didn't feel very much like having company right now. Her mind was too full of things that she wished she never had to think about. "So it doesn't bother you that I'm—" She hadn't spoken to him before now about what everyone now hated her for.

"Why would that bother me? Your last name doesn't have nearly as much to do with the way you turn out as everyone else thinks. I've never had a problem with you before, and I'm not about to start now. Besides, I don't really blame you for keeping it quiet. It's not too different from my situation, is it? I don't really like to advertise the fact that I'm a werewolf."

Suddenly, Necia felt a burst of gratitude toward Lupin, wishing that it wouldn't be inappropriate to hug him. _'Hugging is the least of your worries,'_ a little voice sneered in her head. She tried to ignore it and just enjoy the fact that at least someone didn't despise her, but then her eyes wandered to the far side of the stadium, landing on Snape as he found himself an empty place to sit. Her stomach turned over as she watched him, a new thought occurring to her. How could she be sure that she hadn't been completely addled by that potion last night and Snape had raped her? But she couldn't see him leaving her in the bed all night if that was how it had happened. Snape wasn't an idiot, no matter what else he was.

"Hey, Remus, I didn' know yeh'd be here," came a cheerful voice from Necia's left side. She looked up to see Hagrid shuffling down the row, bumping the people in the row in front as he approached. He sat down and stared out at the stadium similarly to Lupin, as though he thought absolutely nothing of sitting next to the one person that he knew perfectly well Harry and his friends were the most furious with.

"How come you're not sitting with Hermione?" she asked timidly after a moment.

He shrugged and looked down at her, his eyes crinkling in a kind smile. "I'm sittin' exactly where I wanna sit, an' if she wants ta join me, she'll hafta come up here."

Now Necia very much wanted to hug him, but at that moment the players walked out onto the field and from then on she became determinedly focused on what was going on in the air, occasionally commenting on the game with Lupin and Hagrid. It felt like she had been assigned the lead role in a play. She reacted automatically to everything that happened in the same manner she would normally respond to things, but it felt like she wasn't really there. Someone else had stepped forward to take her place, as though someone was standing in for her while she was incapable of thinking clearly. She and Hagrid always cheered wildly whenever Ginny scored, but Lupin was a more reserved viewer. The most he ever did was applaud politely, but Necia could tell by his face that he was enjoying himself.

When Necia turned once to make sure that Lupin hadn't fallen asleep beside her, for he had been silent for quite some time, his alert, aging face seemed to change fleetingly into a much smoother, younger version, his hair much less gray and slightly longer. She gasped in surprise, and suddenly he was back to himself and looking at her very curiously. "Are you all right?" he asked gently as her eyes darted all over his face, making sure that everything was as it usually was.

"Erm, yeah, sorry, I just thought I saw something," she mumbled in embarrassment, for he was looking at her very strangely indeed. She turned back to the game, the image of a much younger Remus Lupin still hovering before her eyes. In fact, during that odd second he had looked her age, if not slightly younger. Her eyes shot up to Harry, but he wasn't Harry anymore, it was someone else with unkempt black hair flying over the stands, performing some spectacular twists and turns in midair. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, and there was Harry once more, not doing anything more than flying high over the game, looking for the Snitch.

"Yeh know, Necia, yer not lookin' so good," Hagrid noted as he looked down at her again.

"Are you sure you're feeling all right?" Lupin asked, glancing at her and taking in how pale she had just become.

"I'm just feeling a little under the weather," she replied uncomfortably, looking at Harry again to make sure it was really him. She didn't understand what was going on. First Lupin had looked like a teenager again, and then she thought Harry was someone else who just looked like him. _'No, it wasn't just someone who looked like him. I saw his dad,'_ she realized in shock. She had seen pictures of Harry's father before, and that had undoubtedly been him. Her eyes trained themselves on her feet, lest anyone else magically transform before them. What was happening to her?

Necia didn't even notice when Harry finally caught the Snitch, although she managed to stand up and cheer with everyone else before she looked suspicious. _'Maybe I should go see Madam Pomfrey, she might be able to give me something.'_ She earnestly thanked Lupin and Hagrid for sitting with her before she headed across the grounds for the castle, with every intention of going straight to the hospital wing. Something distracted her, however.

A small creature was shuffling up the steps toward the castle. Judging by the dirt its bare feet were tracking on the stone steps, it had just come down the road from Hogsmeade. As she drew closer, she realized it was an old house-elf. A dirty cloth had been tied in a loincloth fashion around its waist. She looked around for the witch or wizard it belonged to, but the elf was very much alone. Other people behind her were slowing down as they watched it, curious babble breaking out everywhere as everyone strained to get a better look at it. Suddenly, Hermione broke away from the group, walking purposefully right up to the elf to get a better look at it.

"Kreacher?" she asked after one quick look at its face.

The elf paused and turned, only noticing the crowd behind it for the first time, then it spoke in a hoarse voice that was distinctly male, "Mudbloods and filth everywhere. Mistress wouldn't like this, oh no she wouldn't. They are watching Kreacher, but he must keep going. He has work to do."

"What kind of work?" Hermione asked innocently.

Kreacher stared reproachfully up at her, as though thoroughly insulted that she was speaking to him. "Kreacher is looking for his Mistress."

"Kreacher," Hermione said gently, "your Mistress is dead. Sirius is gone too, so you're free to go. There's no one left to serve."

By now Harry, Ron, and Ginny had caught up with everyone and looked completely shocked to see Kreacher on the front steps of Hogwarts. Necia couldn't ever remember them mentioning him, but she had only been with them half the year. She couldn't expect to hear everything in that time. From Hermione mentioning Sirius Black, however, she could assume that the elf had belonged to him.

In response to Hermione's statement, Kreacher shook his head fiercely. "No, I'm here to meet my Mistress."

Now Harry spoke up, stepping forward so that he was only a few feet to Necia's left. "What Mistress, and why would she be at Hogwarts?"

Kreacher turned to answer him, but he paused, his eyes on Necia. Suddenly, he shuffled much faster than she would have supposed him capable of back down the steps and right up to her, bowing down until his ears flopped forward and hid his eyes. "Kreacher is here to serve," he said rather pompously.

Necia stared down at the elf in shock. Now she became very aware that everyone was staring at them without restraint, including the teachers, who had moved to the front of the group to see what was going on. Snape's eyes met hers as she looked over at them and she quickly turned away. More than anything she just wanted to run back up to her dormitory and hide under her covers to avoid confronting all these people, Snape most of all, but Kreacher was still prostrating himself in front of her.

"I think you've got me confused with someone else," she finally choked out, returning her eyes to the elf.

He stood upright, looking rather insulted again. "House-elves know who they must serve, and Kreacher has been sent to serve you."

Necia looked up at Harry, hoping he could see how completely confused she was. She couldn't deal with the elf, but he had known him, so hopefully he could talk some sense into him. He avoided her eyes, but still turned to the elf. "Kreacher, Sirius was the last Black. Hermione is right, you don't have anyone left to serve."

Out of nowhere, a cold, drawling voice called out, "You're obviously not very familiar with how house-elf magic works, Potter." To Necia's surprise and creeping trepidation, Draco pulled himself out of the crowd and strode forward to stand directly next to Necia, separating her from Harry. "House-elves are magically drawn to members of the family they serve. If this thing says he's here to serve Necia, then he knows what he's doing."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Then why doesn't he serve you? Your mother and Sirius were cousins, you're part of the family. Why is he here for Necia?"

Draco smirked and turned to look significantly at Necia, his cold, gray eyes cutting straight through her. "Because house-elves only serve the closest relative."

Now Necia had absolutely no idea what was going on. "But I'm not related to the Blacks. If I am, it would be very distant, and more than likely through marriage."

His smirk was only growing more defined. "No, the fact that it's not through marriage is the reason why your mother couldn't be part of the family anymore."

"I have no idea what you're getting at," she snapped coldly, forgetting about the watching crowd.

"Don't you? I was never under the impression that you were as dimwitted as your father, but I supposed you must have inherited something from him. That's where you got your hair, as I'm sure you figured out without seeing him."

"You're not making any sense!" she cried in frustration. "If you have something to tell me, just spit it out already!"

His expression turned almost soft as he leaned forward and whispered in her ear, his lips just barely brushing the lobe, "Think about it. Your mother's pregnancy with you was disturbing enough to get her kicked out of the family. Your hair is dark, which is very strange for a Malfoy. This house-elf belonged to the Blacks, and now he's coming here to serve you." He stepped back, folding his arms over his chest. "You put the rest together." He said the last part loud enough for everyone else to hear.

Her eyes widened as she stared at him. He had laid it out pretty clearly, but she didn't want to put the pieces together. If she followed everything he said, that would mean that Kreacher was here because there was one more Black in the family. He was here because she was Sirius Black's daughter.

Quickly sidestepping Kreacher, who was still very much in her way, she disappeared inside the castle, breaking into a run as soon as she was out of everyone's sight. Without noticing where her feet were carrying her, she ran until she spotted the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy getting beaten viciously by a group of trolls. She didn't even need to walk past the wall, the door had already appeared across from the tapestry. She threw herself inside, tearing through the perfect copy of her house until she had reached her mother's room. It was all too much, it was an information overload. She had slept with Snape, her mother was gone, everyone knew she was a Malfoy, and now her father was apparently Sirius Black, who had died two years ago. She had never felt more alone.

As she curled up on her mother's bed, she rubbed her ear where Draco's lips had touched it. That hadn't been necessary, he didn't need to be that close to her. As she rubbed the sensation away, a very quick flash of other lips on her ear, along with the vivid memory of being thrust into darted through her mind. A tear slipped down her cheek as Snape's face, barely visible through the darkness but obviously shining with lust appeared before her eyes, disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. _'Nothing could be worse than this,'_ she thought in absolute, self-pitying misery. She felt sick with disgust as once again, as though she were reliving it, she felt his hands on her, his mouth moving down her body, his eager, powerful thrusts as he emptied himself inside her. Even worse, she remembered moaning against his lips, allowing him to do whatever he pleased, which he had done without any form of restraint. She very clearly remembered answering his thrusts, digging her fingers eagerly into his back as pleasure rolled over her. The memories were coming quickly and very vividly, as though she were reliving them right at that moment. After all, it was the first time she had seen them.

She screwed her face up against the pillow, unable to deal with what she had done. None of it made any sense. What had happened to her last night?

* * *

Severus couldn't have been more relieved to reach the solitude of his office. That had been a very interesting exchange outside, giving almost solid proof that he had been right, Necia was Sirius's daughter. But that wasn't what was bothering him right now.

When Necia had looked at him, he had seen completely unhidden panic in her eyes, and it hadn't been because of the house-elf. That look had only appeared when she saw him. He didn't want to consider it, but now he pulled out the vial he had found earlier. He had only been able to think of a few potions that this resembled, and now he had a strong sense he knew what it was, although he didn't know how she had gotten her hands on it.

The Channeling Solution was something that was very rarely used because it was notoriously difficult to make, and there wasn't often much use to it. If made correctly, it created a replica of someone's mind, with all their personality traits and memories. The host for the replica would simply slide to the background and lose control, and when the potion finally wore off hours later, they wouldn't remember a thing. The problem was that if made incorrectly, it could very well leave the host stuck as the replica, or the two minds could clash, blending the memories and personalities of both, which tended to lead to complete insanity because the two minds were incapable of working together.

Severus had never heard of the Channeling Solution being used to replicate a dead mind, but it was clearly possible. Looking at the vial again, he realized that this must have been what Necia had picked up when they were leaving Lucius's hideout. Of course, the Channeling Solution couldn't be found in most books because it was next to useless, why copy someone's mind for just a few hours? You wouldn't have control over that mind, and you wouldn't remember what it contained when you recovered. Without knowing what it was supposed to do, Necia had taken it herself, when the right thing to do would have been to give it to a friend so that she could talk to her mother herself.

Now everything came crashing down in stark reality. He had really spoken to Cassandra last night, she really loved him, but he had had sex with Necia. It had been Cassandra's spirit, but Necia's body, and in the end, he knew that it was the body that mattered. That was why Necia had looked so panicked by the sight of him. Although if it were properly made, she shouldn't remember last night, that still left the fact that she must have woken up beside him sometime during the night. He sat down wearily behind his desk, rubbing his eyes as a wave of exhaustion rolled over him. He had taken in a lot of information in a few short hours, more than he usually absorbed in a full day, and absolutely none of it was good. Something would have to be done about this. The only problem was that he had no idea what to do.


	16. Feeding the Animals

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Haunted

By Be Boring

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Chapter 15: Feeding the Animals

The last few days had seemed very long to Severus. He had tried contacting Lucius many times to find out just who had actually made the Channeling Solution, but Lucius was currently under such heavy security at Azkaban that there was no chance of getting to talk to him.

He also hadn't seen Necia even once since the day that Kreacher arrived at Hogwarts. She wasn't at meals, and naturally she didn't show up for their most recent lesson, which didn't surprise him. From eavesdropping on his coworkers' conversations in the staff room, he learned that she was still attending other lessons, but it seemed that outside the regular school day, she disappeared. That made it completely impossible for him to see if the potion was having any lasting effects. If the potion hadn't been made properly, either Cassandra would still be in complete control, which he doubted from what little he'd seen of Necia the day after they had slept together, or Cassandra would still be present in Necia's mind, but the two minds would be in a constant battle for control. If Necia knew enough to attend her other classes, then it would seem that she at least had more control than her mother, but that didn't mean that Cassandra wasn't still in there somewhere, waiting to come out.

It took him a long time to work up the courage to do what he had to do. Four days after Necia had taken the potion, he found himself riding the moving staircase up to Dumbledore's office, only feeling some relief when he discovered the headmaster sitting alone behind his desk. He would have hated for anyone else to even know he had come here.

"Is something wrong, Severus?" Dumbledore asked gently, his piercing blue eyes taking in the other man's tense appearance.

"There is something I should have told you quite some time ago," Severus began uncomfortably. Although keeping things from other people was just part of life for him, keeping secrets from Dumbledore always made him feel like some naughty little kid, and this was something that Dumbledore would have wanted to know about as soon as it had happened. Now the headmaster, as though sensing that what he was about to hear would be very important, observed Severus quietly from over his folded fingers. Closing his eyes for a moment to gather himself, Severus spat out quickly, "Lucius gave something to Necia Malfoy when she was with him in Hogsmeade."

"What was it?" Dumbledore asked gravely.

"One dose of Channeling Solution, designed to replicate her mother's mind."

At this, Dumbledore looked genuinely surprised. It wasn't very often that someone managed to catch him off guard, but this was something he couldn't have expected. "And what happened?"

"I'm sure he didn't tell Ms. Malfoy what it was, although I'm not sure what he told her that convinced her to take it, but unless she knew precisely what she was looking for, she never would have been able to find that potion in a book. It's only in one that I know of, and that's in the Restricted Section. What she should have done was give the potion to a friend, which would give her the chance to talk to Cassandra, but instead she took it herself, and I have reason to believe there will be side effects."

"What would make you think that?"

"Because I didn't make the potion, I've never brewed it in my life, and if Lucius was going after Necia to make potions for him, then that indicates he didn't have a qualified potion-maker at his disposal. With the time he had on his hands, I'd say he probably made it himself, and in that case, the potion was undoubtedly made incorrectly."

Dumbledore stared at the glossy surface of his desk as he said, "Remind me again what can happen when a Channeling Solution goes wrong?"

"Either the replicated mind stays in control, or the two minds continue to exist in the same body, often resulting in insanity because the minds are unable to coexist peacefully."

"Which do you believe is happening?"

"If anything is wrong at all, it will be the second side effect, because she at least knows enough to go to her classes."

If he had thought he could make this sound like a very recent event, he was wrong. "Exactly when did Necia take the potion?" Dumbledore asked shrewdly, now looking very pointedly at Severus.

Pausing slightly, he finally replied, "Four days ago."

It would almost have been better if Dumbledore had yelled at him, jinxed him, or even threw a punch, because the disappointment in his eyes was more painful than any of those options. "And why didn't you tell me then?"

"Because at first I wasn't certain what she had taken, and I also wanted to observe her to see if there was anything wrong."

"And what have you found from your observations?"

"Nothing, because I haven't seen her since the Quidditch match on Saturday. She skipped my lesson last night, and she hasn't been at meals. That's when I decided I needed to get outside help." He didn't like lying to Dumbledore, but he just couldn't let him know that he had had sex with a student. Although it hadn't really been his fault, Dumbledore would certainly want to know why he hadn't been able to tell the difference between Cassandra and Necia, and then he would have to tell him about the Confusion Draught. That was something he had always kept to himself, because Dumbledore highly disapproved of anyone being under the influence of any potion, drug, or alcohol while on school property. If the headmaster discovered that he occasionally took a Confusion Draught to take his mind off things, there would most definitely be repercussions.

"And what made you decide to come see me now?"

"Because if I cannot observe her, other teachers will have to, and this is something we'll want to keep a close eye on. If something is wrong and we catch it early enough, there's a chance of getting rid of the traces of Cassandra without Necia receiving any damage. The longer they are together, though, the more lasting effects this could have."

"Is there still a chance that the potion was perfectly made?"

"A slight chance, but knowing Lucius, I wouldn't rely on it."

Dumbledore nodded, seeming to come to a decision very quickly. "I agree with you that we should find out everything as soon as possible, but in this case I prefer the direct approach. I'm going to speak to Necia myself, tell her exactly what she took, and ask how she's been feeling. If I feel she's not being completely truthful, then we'll include the other teachers, but I'm hoping she'll be honest. Is there anything else you would like to tell me?"

It was as though he knew precisely what had happened that night. Still, Severus had no intention of telling him, and he was quite sure Necia wouldn't share it either. "No, sir, that was all." Despite his self-assurance that keeping that night to himself was in his best interests, he still felt the familiar twinge of guilt in his stomach that always followed lying to Dumbledore.

* * *

Necia had had a few very difficult days indeed. She didn't know how, but Kreacher managed to find her in the Room of Requirement, and since then she hadn't been able to get rid of him. At least he served one purpose: she could send him for food from the kitchens. She had the distinct impression that it gave him no pleasure to serve her, yet he followed her instructions well enough. The biggest problem was getting him to shut up when he thought she couldn't hear him. She very quickly learned that he hadn't approved of Sirius at all and had placed her under his category of disgraces to the family. In the end, she told him to go down and help the other house-elves in the kitchen at night so that she could get some sleep.

She had only returned to Gryffindor Tower once since Saturday, and that was merely to grab her schoolbooks and any personal effects from her dormitory. She left enough things lying around so it didn't look as though she had completely disappeared, but she took everything that was important. She preferred sleeping in her own room, although it wasn't really her room, to sleeping in a room full of girls who very clearly wanted nothing to do with her. She sensed that Hermione would be more open to the idea of talking to her if it weren't for the fact that she wasn't exactly being inviting. By now her pride was flaring up, and if they hadn't wanted anything to do with her when they first found out who she really was, then they could just stay away now as well.

As she slipped down into the entrance hall on Wednesday morning to head out to Care of Magical Creatures while the other students were finishing breakfast, her stomach dropped as she realized that Harry, Ron, and Hermione also had had the same idea of getting to class early and were walking a mere fifteen feet in front of her. She dropped back immediately, only to feel an arm wrap itself casually around her shoulders. Glancing sideways, she scowled in distaste as she recognized her second cousin's swaggering walk.

"Why do I get the feeling you've been avoiding things lately?" he asked in a would-be concerned tone, if it weren't for the constant smirk on his face.

"Don't I always avoid you?" she snapped impatiently. She was hardly in the mood to talk to him today. It didn't help that she noticed the trio ahead of them very clearly eavesdropping on them.

"Oh, but I think you're avoiding more than just me, dear cousin," he commented lightly. "We don't sit at the same table, and yet I've noticed you're not eating with the rest of the school. I suppose you're too good for us? Now that you've got your own house-elf here, I suppose you're sending him around to get food for you."

She didn't want to tell him that that was exactly what she'd been doing, but her face said enough. Before he could go farther, she shrugged his arm off and sped up, drawing closer to the trio. "If you've got something to say, say it, otherwise I think I'll go back to avoiding you." With that, she finally caught up with the trio, passed them, and ended up beating everyone to Hagrid's hut.

As everyone gathered around, Hagrid came out of his hut carrying a large tub of what appeared to be dead scorpions. Once he had set it down on a broad wooden table, he disappeared behind his hut, returning with an armload of creatures that could only be described as fuzzy balls of silvery fur, each about the size of a beach ball. When he set them down on the table, they stretched out, changing from their original roundness into large, flat, furry pancakes. It appeared they had no bones in their bodies.

"Zurrufs," he announced brightly, as though this were something extremely exciting. "I know they're not much to look a', but they're very useful, and they take a lotta lookin' after." As he launched into an explanation of just what zurrufs were good for, Necia found her attention wandering. Her eyes settled instead on the Forbidden Forest, where the tops of the trees were stirring in the light breeze. As her mind drifted away, she was suddenly called back by Hagrid's voice saying her name. She looked at him blankly, wishing she had paid more attention. "What?" she asked politely, trying to look as though she had been hanging on his words just as determinedly as Hermione.

Hagrid was holding a scroll which had apparently come from an owl she now noticed winging back towards the Owlery. "Could ya feed the animals? This'll on'y take a minute." He must have been asking because she was standing closest to the table, but as he stepped back and unrolled the parchment, his words echoed in her head. _"Necia, would you mind feeding the animals? We'll be done in a minute."_ Those words, although so close to what Hagrid had said, came to her in her mother's voice. Very quickly, she stepped forward and picked up one of the dead scorpions, staring down at the nearest zurruf dubiously. Where was its mouth? Had Hagrid mentioned that while she'd been daydreaming? Before she had time to poke the blob of silver fur to see if it might snap at her and reveal its hidden mouth, or anything that resembled something a living creature might have, Hagrid repeated her name.

"Necia, yer supposed ta go ta Dumbledore's office," he said, gesturing toward the parchment in his hand. A hushed "ooooh" rose from the crowd behind her. With a sigh, she dropped the scorpion back into the tub and grabbed her bag to start off for the castle, then paused. She didn't remember where Dumbledore's office was. She had been there only once, when he had sorted her, but that was before she knew her way around the castle. She hadn't been near it since. As though realizing what was wrong, Hagrid added, "Harry, why don' you go with her? You know where his office is."

Necia knew perfectly well what Hagrid was doing. He had no problem with either of them and he wanted them to solve their problems, but forcing them together was definitely not the way to do it. She slowed down to give Harry the chance to catch up to her and they took off across the grounds, not looking at each other at all.

As they reached the front steps, it seemed that Harry was reminded of Saturday, because he finally spoke to her for the first time in weeks. "How closely related are you to Sirius?"

She stepped through the front door he was holding open for her. She assumed he was being this polite because he wanted to hear her answer. "Well, if Draco can be believed, Sirius was my father."

A very deep silence hung in the air after these words, and it took Necia a few seconds to realize that Harry had stopped walking and was staring at her very intently, searching her face for signs of lying, but she also suspected he was looking for similarities to his deceased godfather. "Sirius would have told me something like that," he said finally, looking as though the longer he thought it over, the less he believed her.

"I don't think he knew," she said quietly. "My mother never even told me who my father was, so I get the feeling they weren't on good terms."

"Then why did they, er, have you in the first place?" he asked, for once sounding as though he wasn't accusing her of something.

She shrugged. "Mum had a Pensieve, and one time I overheard an old argument between her and her mother, and it sounded like I came from a one-night stand." It felt very strange to tell Harry something that personal, but one of the parties involved was his godfather, after all. "I really don't know _why_, but I'm assuming that must have been with him."

Recovering himself, Harry started walking again, and suddenly Necia sensed some of his hostility drain away. As he led her up a hidden staircase, he asked, "So, what happened when, you know, you were with Lucius?" It sounded as though it pained him to ask, but it was the first time Necia had felt anything even approaching happiness since Kreacher's arrival. If he was asking, then he must doubt that she was involved with Lucius.

"Nothing like the papers were saying," she replied hurriedly. "He was trying to convince me to work with him, but Snape turned up before anything really happened." Snape's name had popped out of her mouth so easily, but she could feel the color draining from her face as she said it. Luckily, Harry wasn't watching her face.

"I suppose they sent him there because Lucius would let him in," Harry commented, almost to himself.

"What do you mean?"

It looked as though he was unsure about whether he should tell her, but he spit it out anyway. "Well, Snape was a Death Eater who turned spy for Dumbledore. The other Death Eaters never knew, so Lucius probably trusted Snape enough to let him in."

Snape had been a Death Eater? The disgust that had been sitting in her stomach ever since waking up in his room early Saturday morning seemed to swell until it filled her abdomen. She had done her best to avoid thinking about him the last few days, convincing herself that it wasn't her fault, it was because of that potion that she had done anything with him. It just didn't help that she remembered being only too willing to give him full access to her body, even gently calling him "Sev" in her moments of deeper pleasure. Her skin crawled as she once again felt his mouth traveling over her, renewing her strong sense of being filthy, as though she hadn't showered in weeks.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked as they came to a stop in front of a large stone gargoyle. The slight concern in his voice nearly made her eyes well up with tears. He was finally shoving aside his hard feelings, and she didn't deserve it. Not after Friday night.

"I'm fine, I just can't believe Snape was a Death Eater," she explained quickly. Her eyes turned to the gargoyle. She recognized it now, but she also remembered Dumbledore saying something to cause it to step aside and reveal a moving staircase.

"Er, do you know the password?" she asked, studying the gargoyle as she tried to remember.

"No, but it's usually some kind of candy."

'That's it.' "Shrinking Sugarplum," she said triumphantly, and the gargoyle moved aside, exposing the staircase behind it. "I remembered it from last time," she explained, noticing the look on his face.

"Well, I guess I'll go back to class then. Good luck," he said uncomfortably, heading back down the passageway. Feeling considerably more light-hearted than she had for a long time, Necia stepped onto the moving staircase and rode it to the door of Dumbledore's office, flushing slightly as Dumbledore opened the door for her. He must have been waiting for her.

"Welcome, Ms. Malfoy," he said, smiling gently down at her. If her lies about her identity had upset him, he certainly wasn't showing it. "Have a seat," he said, motioning toward a chair in front of his desk. As soon as they were both sitting, he wasted no time getting to the point. "I was wondering if you've been feeling a bit strange lately?" he inquired lightly, although she had the distinct feeling that he already knew a fair bit about her situation.

"Well, it hasn't exactly been a great time lately," she began, but he shook his head and waved a hand slightly.

"I don't mean emotionally, although I know it's been difficult for you lately. I'm talking about anything strange happening, something out of the ordinary."

Should she tell him that she'd been seeing things? Since returning to classes, now she had seen McGonogall, Flitwick, and Sprout all magically grow younger before her eyes, only to be perfectly normal the next time she looked. Something had also happened during her last Divination class. When she had first entered the room, the round tables surrounded by poufs and cushions had faded into a nearly empty room that clearly hadn't been used for a long time, containing only a few pieces of furniture covered in white sheets. When she blinked, it had returned to normal.

Dumbledore obviously already knew something was wrong, otherwise he wouldn't be asking. Besides, if he had answers, she would be only too willing to hear them. "Actually, I've been having some hallucinations, if that's the right name for them." When he didn't comment, she continued determinedly, "Every now and then, people change a little. A lot of the teachers seem to get younger, and the Divination room changed when I looked at it. It doesn't last for very long, though."

"Anything else?"

Her mind drifted back to the Quidditch match. "Well, at the match on Saturday, I looked up at Harry and I could have sworn for a second that he changed into his father, but they look so much alike that that may have been a trick of the light."

Leaning back in his seat, Dumbledore looked directly into her eyes and said, "What you are experiencing is a side effect from the potion you took last Friday."

"How—?"

"Professor Snape discovered what Lucius gave to you at his house. It was a Channeling Solution. Have you ever heard of it?"

Trying to ignore the mention of Snape's name, not to mention the fact that he knew she had taken a potion, she thought over the potions that she had learned about. "I think I've heard about it before, but I'm not quite sure what it does."

"Well, it's improperly named, because it doesn't really channel another person's mind, it makes a copy of it. It more or less turns the drinker into another person, not physically like the Polyjuice Potion, but mentally. Professor Snape had never heard of it being used for a deceased person before, but apparently it can be done, because when you drank that potion, you became your mother for a night."

This revelation took a very long time to sink in for Necia. She had become her mother? Well, Lucius had told her that it would give Cassandra the chance to say her last good-byes. She just wished she had known precisely what that meant. Suddenly, Snape came flying back into her mind. She had taken a potion that made her become her mother, then she went and had sex with him. What did that mean? _"Did…did you know my mother? I mean, you'd be about the same age, so you must have at least seen her in school. You weren't in the same House, but all the same…"_ The look on his face had been hard to read at the time, she had thought he was just surprised, but now that she thought about it, he had looked cornered. Had there been something between her mother and Snape? That would explain why she remembered being so eager to accept his advances. She didn't even want to consider it, but it was the only thing that made sense.

Then her mind turned to everything she'd been seeing the past few days. "So, what exactly is happening to me now? You said it's a side effect."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, the potion was apparently not made properly, which means that the copy of your mother's mind that it created is still inside of you. When things seem to change, it's because you're seeing people as your mother remembered them. You saw James instead of Harry because Cassandra knew James at school. Teachers look younger because obviously they were younger when she last saw them. The Divination classroom was a storage room during her days at school. So far it appears that you are still in control for the most part, but Professor Snape has warned me that the situation will not go away on its own. He is currently trying to work out a way to remove Cassandra from your mind, which is for the best. Cassandra will not be aware that she is in your body, as far as she is concerned it is her body and something else is invading it. If things get any worse, I want you to speak with either Professor Snape or me immediately."

As she listened to him talk, something very strange was happening. The flashes of her younger teachers came rushing back to her, and when he mentioned Snape's name, a deep rush of affection rose in her chest. Even the part of her mind that wasn't being affected by her mother's emotions felt some gratitude for the fact that he was working on setting everything straight.

Something else flashed before her eyes, and for a moment she remembered saying something to him, but she was standing in his bedroom, and he was sprawled on the bed, his eyes somewhat glazed over. She couldn't recall what she had said to him, but she remembered his eyes turning in her direction, and as dazed as they were, she could see the confusion in them, mixed with affection. _'My hair was blonde because of that candy Ginny and I ate. Did he even realize it wasn't me?'_ The thought completely startled her, but it made sense as well. He hadn't looked like he was in his right mind in that memory, and with how similar she was to her mother, she could see him getting confused. She still didn't know how he had found out about the potion, but he evidently knew now who he had really slept with. It was somewhat of a relief to know that she hadn't been taken advantage of, although it didn't take away the disgust of what she had done.

"Is that all for now?" she asked after they had sat in silence for a couple minutes, Dumbledore giving her a chance to absorb everything she had just learned, although he couldn't have possibly known just what was going through her mind.

"Unless there's anything else you wish to speak with me about," he replied with a smile. When she shook her head, he stood up and held the door for her. "Then you may return to class."

* * *

Severus watched out of his classroom window as Necia crossed the lawn to return to Care of Magical Creatures. He had been stalking around the room, observing the potions his sixth years were making. Well, at any rate Dumbledore should now know whether she was experiencing any side effects. He supposed the headmaster would find a way to let him know during lunch. Trying to get himself back into the flow of his class, he hovered over Ginny Weasley's cauldron, snapping at her, "You're taking too long to add the ingredients, this mess is beyond help by now." And with a wave of his wand, he cleared away her potion. With a particularly satisfied feeling in his chest as her brown eyes burned into his back, he moved on to inspect Colin Creevey's potion, feeling at least slightly back to normal.

* * *

Still not comfortable enough to join the Gryffindors for lunch, Necia headed for the Room of Requirement, sidestepping Kreacher as he stood mumbling in the middle of the kitchen. At least he had brought more than enough food for her. As she sat down at the table with her lunch, she felt a shudder beneath her feet and the room gave a groan.

One of the best features about the Room of Requirement was that if one person was in it, it still made itself available to others while leaving the first occupant in their version of the room. It simply shifted to make room for the newcomer. Unless someone was looking for her, they wouldn't be able to find her here. By now she was used to the room groaning and moving, it just meant that someone else had come to use it. She could still leave out the same door, so it didn't affect her at all.

As she ate, words began to echo in her head. Strangely enough, it wasn't anything that involved what she had learned in Dumbledore's office, but the words she had heard before she was sent there. _"Necia, would you mind feeding the animals? We'll be done in a minute."_ When had her mother said that? As suddenly as though someone had plunged her head into a Pensieve, she found herself standing next to the table where she had been eating moments before, looking at herself in the doorway, while standing next to a man whose sleek, white-blonde hair and pale, pointed face made him immediately recognizable. She was standing next to Lucius Malfoy.

"Necia, would you mind feeding the animals? We'll be done in a minute," she felt herself say briskly, as though she was looking for an excuse to get the other version of herself out of the room. As she watched herself walk out of the room with a very curious expression on her face, she turned to face Lucius. "What do you want? You haven't so much as written a letter since the last time we saw each other."

He smiled condescendingly at her. "Let me remind you that you haven't written either. It's a two-way street. I'm here now because I'm looking for a little help from my favorite cousin."

Necia felt the traditional Malfoy smirk cross her face. "I was far from being your favorite cousin, Lucius, and I have no reason to help you. You've never done anything for me, and in any case, I'm not interested in helping the Death Eaters. If Severus won't make potions for you, that's your problem, not mine."

His eyes seemed to burn into her. "How did you know this involved Severus?"

"Because he's the only Death Eater who knew how to make a potion. I'm assuming that if you're coming to me, it means he's not helping you anymore."

Lucius took a step closer to her, a very threatening gleam in his eyes. "But you've certainly been fighting him every time he has made a potion, haven't you? It's your fault that every assassination Severus was meant to carry out went wrong. I would think you'd welcome the opportunity to make up this injustice to me."

She snorted derisively. "It wasn't an injustice to you, it was an injustice to the Dark Lord, and I was never interested in helping him in the first place. In fact, I'm not interested in helping you either. As a matter of fact, I should send an owl to the Ministry right now to tell them where you are. Then at least you would be justified in feeling that I've done something to wrong you."

His hand flew into his robes as he growled, "I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

Necia's eyes snapped open at the table as her own scream sounded in her ears. Horrified, she stared down at her plate, the look on Lucius's face still so clear in her mind. That had been entirely new to her, which was strange because she had been there. Why didn't she remember Lucius being at her house? And what she had just remembered hadn't even been from her point of view, it was from her mother's. She had heard herself scream, and the shock of it had jolted her out of the memory before it had quite finished, but she didn't need to see the rest of it to know what had happened. She had never seen such fury in someone's face, and for the first time she realized just how her mother had died. She had been killed at the hands of her own cousin for refusing to assist the Death Eaters.

Shaking, she pushed herself away from the table, standing up only to sink to her knees as a wave of sounds invaded her head. Her own screams, mingled with Lucius's shouts of "Shut up, you foolish girl!" shortly followed by the cry of "_Obliviate!_" Those weren't her mother's memories, those were her own, but they were followed very quickly by a blinding pain ripping through her head. Her stomach lurched and she threw herself forward on all fours, preparing to vomit everything she had just eaten, but the pain faded as quickly as it had started. She sat back, trembling from head to toe, and as she dragged herself back to her feet she vaguely realized that Kreacher had left the Room of Requirement, perhaps to get her more food.

She had no sooner realized this than the door burst open and someone much taller than Kreacher swept in.

* * *

When Severus arrived for lunch, he quickly noticed that Necia was still not at the Gryffindor table. The next thing he realized was that he was the first teacher besides Dumbledore to arrive for lunch, and seizing his chance, he strode forward and took the seat beside the headmaster.

"So what happened?" he asked without preamble.

Dumbledore's eyes flickered in his direction, strangely void of his ever-constant amusement as he replied, "She admitted having some symptoms, so we'll need to take care of that as soon as possible. At least she seems to be herself. Cassandra only interrupts very occasionally, and even then Necia doesn't lose control. Do you have any idea how to separate the two minds?"

"I'm working on an antidote to the Channeling Solution as we speak. It's currently simmering in my office."

As they began to eat, an owl soared in and dropped a letter right on top of Dumbledore's toast. He opened it immediately, nodding in some satisfaction as he announced quietly, "Lucius was tried this morning and the sentence was just announced. He will be spending the rest of his life in Azkaban."

Although he was very happy at the news, Severus's eyes once again darted across the students. Draco Malfoy also hadn't turned up for lunch. He was distracted from this by Professor Lupin, who sat down on Dumbledore's other side.

"Kreacher looks very out of place here," he commented dully as he selected a sandwich from the plates in front of him.

Dumbledore turned to him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it catches me by surprise every time I see him. After all, it's been a few years." His voice faded for a moment, then he added, "He was talking to the Malfoy boy in the Charms corridor. What do you suppose that was about?"

Neither Dumbledore nor Severus could offer much insight, not that Severus really wanted to, but as he continued his lunch, he couldn't help but think that Draco talking to Kreacher was a very bad thing indeed.


	17. Control

Author's Note: I've always pronounced it Nes-ee-ah. That may not be right, I've never met anyone with that name, that's just how I always figured it was said.

**Haunted  
**By Be Boring

****

Chapter 16: Control

Necia had lost all track of time and place. As she struggled to catch her breath, it hardly registered that she was sprawled on the floor of the copy of her kitchen, and with no real windows leading outside, it was impossible to tell the time. All she knew was that she was in more pain than she had ever experienced in her life. Blood trickled from the back of her head where it had collided with the edge of the counter, her skin had been rubbed raw from sliding across the floor, and cold sweat covered her body until it dripped from her fingertips when she actually managed to get to her feet.

"_Crucio!_" Draco growled, and suddenly pain was coursing through her body and exploding from every nerve as it had been doing ever since Draco had walked through the door.

Necia hadn't known that today was Lucius's trial, but Draco had wasted no time in telling her that he had been sentenced to life in Azkaban, and he blamed her. That wasn't even what had pissed him off the most. Apparently Narcissa had been arrested for helping Lucius, and her trial was coming up shortly. As far as Draco was concerned, Necia had been the downfall of his parents, which was why he wasn't hesitating to use the Cruciatus Curse. He may very well have no home to return to when school ended. What was there to lose?

If she had known at all about the trial today, she would have been much more on the alert, but she'd been rather preoccupied, so Draco had been able to take her completely off guard. It didn't help that she had just remembered her mother's death and had hardly been prepared for an attack when he entered the room.

"Would you like a break?" he asked menacingly, lifting the curse and staring down at her feverishly sweating form on the floor. Her breath came in short, choking gasps as the pain receded until it was little more than an aching memory in her skin. She didn't want to look at him. She couldn't stand seeing a look so similar to the one that Lucius wore when he killed her mother. Draco's gray eyes burned with the same fury and the knuckles of the hand clutching his wand were a glaring white.

Rolling onto her side, she pulled herself until she was leaning against one of the cupboards, wincing in pain as the wound on her head gave a particularly nasty throb. "How is this helping anything?" she asked weakly, trying to make her voice sound reasoning through the pain. "Your parents were in trouble long before I came along, and I wasn't the one who called the Aurors. I didn't testify at your father's trial; in fact, I haven't given any evidence against him. I had nothing to do with any of this!"

Draco stepped forward and grabbed a handful of her hair, twisting her neck back so that she couldn't avoid meeting his eyes. "But if Father hadn't been so determined to get to you, he never would have been caught. What made you so damn important, anyway? Your mother betrayed the entire family when she threw herself like a common whore in front of Sirius Black. She didn't even have the decency to marry him so that you wouldn't be illegitimate. Yet you were all Mother could talk about over the holidays, and Father spent over four months working on that ridiculous potion. Of course, he was counting on the fact that you'd fuck it up, which you did, from what Kreacher says."

"Kreacher?" Necia asked blearily as one of his fingers came into contact with her head wound.

"Yes, I ran into him in the hall. I'm family as well, so there's no shame in sharing things with me, and he told me about this great little hiding spot. I should have realized it sooner, I've been here before after all, but it doesn't matter, I found you anyway. Lucky too, because you've provided a very nice little spot here where no one will find us unless they're looking for us. Convenient, isn't it?" He gave a rather vicious tug and threw her forward onto the floor. She groaned as her forehead struck the floor, immediately giving her the sensation that someone had her brain in a vice grip.

Before she could even attempt to get up, he sent her skidding across the floor with a wave of his wand, crashing her headfirst into one of the legs of the table, bringing the entire thing down on top of her. She lay beneath it, not moving a muscle, hoping that she might be able to recover slightly if she didn't struggle.

After a minute, Draco pulled the table off her, and kneeled down, rolling her onto her back so that he could see her. "Have you had enough yet?" he asked, his eyes wide in a rather manic way, and for the first time Necia realized just how crazy he was at the moment. It was beyond normal fury, he wasn't at all in his right mind. He must have actually loved his parents on some level.

Without warning, he dragged her into a half-sitting position by her hair and forced his lips very roughly against hers. Her shock was so extreme that she didn't even fight back when he squeezed her face fiercely with his free hand and his tongue gained entrance to her mouth. When he finally pulled back to breathe, even he seemed surprised by the kiss, and judging by the insane gleam still shining in his eyes, she didn't think he had intended to do it, it had happened more out of instinct and the thrill of having such total power over her.

While he was busy examining his prey, Necia's fingers brushed against something that didn't feel like part of the table. She could have cried out in relief as she realized it was her wand. It had been sitting on the table while she ate, and once he had started in on her, she couldn't even get to it. As soon as her fingers clasped around it, without thinking she whipped it out and pointed it at him. Her lips didn't even move, but something white shot out the end and blasted him backward. In a sudden rush of adrenaline, she shoved herself to her feet and lunged for the door. She couldn't outrun him right now, but if she could get somewhere where people would hear her, she could call for help.

She had just barely reached the front door when she heard Draco climbing unsteadily to his feet. He must have hit his head when she attacked, or else whatever spell had shot out of her wand had disoriented him. She had never cast a spell without saying an incantation first, but as she scrambled down the passageway, it occurred to her that the ability to perform the spell may have come from her mother.

Very much to her surprise, she realized that the corridors were extremely dark. It was already nighttime. How could she have been in that room with him that long? She turned down a hidden staircase just as Draco came out of the Room of Requirement. She heard him charge past the tapestry that concealed the opening to the staircase and continue down the corridor. Her heart pounding with panic and relief, she began drunkenly zigzagging through the passages, making her way downstairs as fast as she could. If he thought she was trying to escape to Gryffindor Tower, which he apparently did because of the direction he had taken off, then he would still be upstairs somewhere. Honestly, Gryffindor Tower sounded like a good place to be right now.

It took Necia some time to realize that her feet had led her straight to the dungeons. _'This isn't good,'_ she thought anxiously. _'If Draco decides to go back to his common room, he could run right into me!'_ The door to the Potions classroom was locked and her heart sank. This was the only room she knew was safe, where would she hide now?

The answer came very meekly at first, barely making itself known in the back of her mind. _'There's always Snape's office. He might let you in.'_ No, she didn't want to go there. But that wasn't quite true. Something in her, which she knew must belong to her mother, leapt at the thought of going to Snape's office. However, she was saved the trouble by the spell that caught her in the small of her back, sending her crashing to the ground and her wand clattering away across the floor. As Draco approached for what felt like the millionth time, Necia did the only thing she had time to do: she screamed at the top of her lungs.

* * *

Severus's wand clattered to the floor. He had been turning up the heat on the antidote to the Channeling Solution that he had worked out when Necia's scream cut through the silence. He had picked up his wand and was out the door in an instant, sweeping down the corridor, reaching the source of the scream in a matter of seconds.

Necia was on the floor, writhing in pain while Draco stood over her with his wand pointed maliciously at her chest. Severus knew the Cruciatus Curse when he saw it, although he didn't know how Lucius had managed to teach it to Draco without the Ministry catching him. "_Stupefy!_" he cried, pointing his wand directly at Draco. The boy fell back and collapsed, lying spread-eagle on the floor. Necia's entire body was shaking violently, and he realized from the pasty white color of her face that Draco had been torturing her for quite some time, but right now it seemed that her body had given out. Although she was trembling, she was out cold.

Forming magical stretchers for Necia and Draco, he whipped his wand in the direction of the kitchens, two bright flashes of gold erupting from the end, and suddenly two house-elves appeared before him with a _pop_. "Take these two up to the hospital wing. Tell Madam Pomfrey to keep them out of sight of each other, and if at all possible, to keep this one unconscious." He gestured toward Draco. "He performed an Unforgivable Curse tonight, it's the Ministry who will have to deal with him now."

As the house-elves scuttled away, levitating the teenagers, Snape strode back to his office, oddly chilled by what he had just witnessed. Could the scene have looked much different on the day that Cassandra died? Had Lucius stood above her with the same twisted look of rage that Draco had worn when standing over Necia? The image still hovered at the back of his mind as he threw a handful of Floo Powder into the fireplace and called out, "Headmaster, we need to talk. May I come up?"

No answer. He nearly repeated his question, but suddenly a different voice said wearily, "He's not here, he's at the Ministry of Magic attempting to prevent Lucius Malfoy from having an appeal." He recognized the voice as Armando Dippet's, who apparently had just been sleeping in his frame. With a scowl he returned to the potion, glaring down at it with anger at himself for what part of him so desperately wanted to do right now. He wanted to go up to the hospital wing and wait for Necia to wake up. He wanted to see if there were any traces of Cassandra in her eyes, if she would awaken and look up at him with the recognition of the woman he had seen the other night rather than the girl who should really be in control. Would his presence draw her out?

He pushed the thoughts away and stared determinedly down at the softly bubbling potion. Cassandra would be gone soon anyway, what was the point of drawing the torture out for himself any longer by looking at her again? Still, that thought didn't stop him from wanting to see her one more time.

* * *

When Necia's eyes finally opened again, she noticed immediately that she was lying in a strange bed, and at the memory of the last time that had happened, she sat bolt upright and looked around wildly. An almost blinding pain nearly tore her head in two and she squinted to see through the tears that had automatically sprung to her eyes. The first thing she realized was that this was definitely not Snape's bedroom, although it took her a few minutes to recognize where she was. She could see the light from Madam Pomfrey's office as she slipped out of bed, but Madam Pomfrey was nowhere to be seen.

Although the searing pain that gripped her skull made it very clear that she ought to stay here, she wanted to go back to Gryffindor Tower. That was the only place were Draco couldn't find her again, and instinct made her want to run there as fast as she could. She slowly teetered past a bed on the end that had its curtains drawn around it and out the door, leaning heavily against the wall as she slowly headed down the stairs. Only a few steps down, she had to close her eyes and give herself time to breathe. Her fingers gently probed the area were the wound had been on the back of her head, but it was gone. _'Then why does my head still hurt so much?'_

When she opened her eyes, she knew right away that something was wrong. She was no longer on the stairs leading down from the infirmary, but on the stairs leading to the dungeons. She turned her head slowly to see the entrance hall behind her, rays of moonlight illuminating the stairs on the other side that led to Gryffindor Tower. How had she gotten here? Her head throbbed suddenly and she dropped onto the stairs, cradling it in her hands as a low groan escaped her lips.

'This is how I felt that night,' she realized suddenly. Directly after taking the potion, this was exactly how her head had felt, although not for this long. The pain had only lasted until her memories became gray and unclear, until she had become her mother. Her eyes darted back to the corridor ahead of her. Her mother was struggling to take over again, that's why she was here right now, that's why her head hurt so badly. Dragging herself back to her feet, she began scrambling up the stairs as quickly as she could go. Only one thing was on her mind now: getting out of here before her mother could take control from her.

Just before she reached the top of the stairs, however, a voice rang out that made the throbbing in her head increase until her vision blurred. She couldn't even understand what it said, she only felt the sharp stab that pierced directly through the back of her head until it stopped just behind her eyes. Swaying unsteadily on her feet, she turned to face Severus Snape.

* * *

Severus wasn't sure how long he had been working on the potion when he heard it, but as he stirred and contemplated the list of instructions he had set out for himself, something echoed through the corridor outside his office. He paused in his work, straining his ears to hear what it was. Footsteps, that's what it was. Someone was coming down the stairs in rather a hurry. Suddenly, the footsteps stopped and the hallway was returned to its deep silence. He moved to the door and stepped outside, listening again. It was the middle of the night, if a student was out of bed it would be grounds for a detention, not to mention some House points if they were from another House. Just as he started walking toward the stairs, the footsteps started again, this time moving away from him. He turned the final corner to the staircase and snapped, "Stay where you are!"

When the form above him stopped and turned to look at him, he was truly surprised to see Necia framed in the moonlight. She looked dazed, as though she had been struck in the head, although if she'd actually received a head injury during her confrontation with Draco, Madam Pomfrey would have healed that immediately. "Ms. Malfoy, I believe you are supposed to be in the hospital wing right now," he stated coldly, watching as her body tipped threateningly to the right before she managed to steady herself. There was definitely something wrong here.

"Gryffindor…Draco…" she mumbled almost inaudibly, turning away from him and slowly heading toward the stairs to Gryffindor Tower.

He climbed the stairs before she could even cross the entrance hall and grabbed her arm, spinning her around to face him a little too quickly because she groaned and threw a hand to her head. "Didn't you hear me? You're going back to the hospital wing even if I have to drag you."

Her eyes blearily settled on him and he saw a sudden surge of panic in them. "No, not you," she gasped, more to herself than to him. "Not right now." He had the feeling that she wasn't talking about the hospital wing. As their eyes met, he thought something flickered in them, something that wasn't quite normal for this situation. For a moment, he thought he had seen something approaching affection in her eyes.

"Then I'll call a house-elf to escort you," he said firmly, avoiding her eyes as he pulled out his wand. It seemed that what he had wondered about earlier was true. His presence really would draw Cassandra out.

"Sev, I feel funny," she whispered before he could summon an elf. Severus returned his eyes to her almost against his will, and although she was still dazed and seemingly in some pain, it was definitely Cassandra talking to him. "My head hurts," she added, massaging her temples lightly.

Knowing that he needed to get her away from him, he said quietly, "We should get you to Madam Pomfrey, she'll give you something for the pain."

She started to shake her head and almost immediately winced in pain. "No, I'd rather have Madam Jehri do it, I think she's better. She just managed to get me sleeping normally again."

His plan of getting her to the hospital wing flew from his mind. Why had she said something like that? "Cassandra, what's the last thing you remember before coming to see me the other night?"

She frowned as she thought it over. "My roommate was telling me that she had been seeing someone hanging around outside our window; we were on the ground floor. I thought she was being stupid, but it wouldn't have surprised me if someone from the family was there to see me. I had pulled my money out of my trust fund and hadn't put it in the bank under my own name yet. My parents were furious, they wanted to get the money back. I don't know, maybe they thought I'd be stupid enough to keep it in my room." As she spoke, she began to make her way toward the dungeons again and, not wanting to interrupt her, he followed silently until she finished speaking just outside his office door.

"How long after our argument did this happen?" Argument was so much of an understatement that he could have laughed, but she knew what he meant.

"About a month." She didn't seem to understand why he was asking her all of this, but he understood now. Lucius must have been sent to get the money back, and shortly after her last memory he would have raided her room to look for it. If he stole any of her belongings while he was there, he might have been able to use that in making the Channeling Solution, so he hadn't technically copied the mind of a dead person. This meant that she had no idea about Necia. He knew he should have suspected something sooner; wouldn't Cassandra's first priority have been to check on her daughter rather than come running to him?

"What year is it?"

She looked at him as though she wanted to laugh but wasn't sure how he would take it. "It's 1979, and I'm probably insane right now, because I wouldn't have expected to dream about you as someone so much older, but it doesn't matter, you're still the same."

She thought it was a dream? He supposed he would have a rather difficult time handling a situation like this as well. As far as she was concerned, she was twenty years old, he had just deserted her, and she was dreaming about him as an older man to deal with her feelings.

Stepping into his office, she reached her hands up again to clutch her head. It took him quite by surprise when she spoke again, this time as Necia. "Why am I down here?" She had stopped dead in her tracks, staring around in confusion and once again a strong glow of panic. When her eyes landed on Severus, who was so taken aback by the sudden change that he hadn't moved from his spot in the doorway, she gasped and staggered backward, bumping against his desk and leaning against it heavily. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, as though she was expecting everything to go away when she opened them again, but for the longest time, she didn't bother opening them. After nearly a minute, he began to wonder if she had somehow fallen asleep, but just as he raised his wand to summon a house-elf like he had originally planned, she stood up and opened her eyes, all signs of dizziness and disorientation gone.

"You know, this is a really boring dream. Last time was more fun." A smile played on her lips and she stepped forward, peering into the cauldron absently as she drew near it. "And you also weren't working on something then."

Above all, he couldn't let her do anything with that potion. The door closed automatically behind him as he rushed forward and pulled her away from the cauldron, which only needed one more ingredient before he had to let it simmer for the rest of the night. Thankfully it was much easier to make than the original potion.

"Cassandra, you have to go see Madam Pomfrey."

She rolled her eyes and held her arms wide open as though to show she was all in one piece. "Relax, Sev, I'm feeling fine. It was just a little headache before, but it's gone now." Suddenly Cassandra took his arm, pulled him toward her, and stood on her tiptoes, drawing his face down to hers and kissing him passionately before he could react. When his eyes landed on her dark hair, he jerked back and grasped her shoulders, holding her a full arm's length away.

"What's wrong?" she asked huskily, looking up at him with such unhidden desire that he instinctively dragged her back against him and kissed her again, a voice urgently repeating in the back of his mind that this was _not_ Cassandra, it was a student who would be extremely upset when she woke up in the morning and could very well cause him to lose his job. But what did it matter? He didn't give a damn how Necia felt, and he was planning to leave Hogwarts once the rest of the Death Eaters were captured anyway, which wouldn't be too long now that Lucius was going to Azkaban. He forced her away from him again, making up his mind very quickly.

"Just wait, I have to do something first." He turned back to the potion, threw in the very last ingredient, and set it to the heat that he had calculated would be just right for it to be ready first thing in the morning. It was his last chance to be with Cassandra, and Necia or no Necia, he was going to enjoy it.

He took more time to pleasure her tonight, wanting to remember her moaning his name repeatedly, the way she guided his lips to where she needed him most, begging him not to stop when he tauntingly pulled away to see her reaction. He took his time settling into her, doing his ample best not to look at her hair. That was the only thing that made him feel anything other than sheer lust, although he couldn't quite put his finger on what that other feeling was. It couldn't be guilt, Severus Snape did not feel guilty.

It was only when he brought her to her first climax that anything changed, although not for him.

* * *

When Necia came to her senses again, they were going wild with pleasure. A low moan escaped her as she climaxed before she could even comprehend what was happening to her. Her fingers dug unconsciously into Snape's back as she drove her hips against his, seeking to hold onto the overwhelming explosion of incredible heated bliss that was spreading through her, powerfully radiating from between her thighs. A gasp of "Sev!" escaped from her before she could think about it, but it brought her slightly back down to earth.

"Oh God," she moaned in half desire, half alarm as she realized just what was going on. He brought his lips down to hers, completely unaware that he was no longer with Cassandra, although she wasn't completely gone. Necia felt like a spectator in her own body; her mother was directing her movements and filling her with emotions that she knew weren't her own. Pleasure, pain, happiness, panic, and confusion tumbled over one another in her mind as she moved with him, part of her wanting desperately to stop the proceedings, but another part, the stronger part, was viciously insisting, _'But this is where you want to be. It doesn't matter whose emotions you're feeling, you're still feeling them. You want to be here, you want to be with him, and you just don't have the willpower to fight it.'_

She didn't want to admit how true those words were, but as the shadows crawled slowly across the ceiling, giving her the only indication of how much time was passing, she knew she wasn't going to stop anything. Her mother was dominating her actions, her emotions, even her fears. She knew she should have been terrified to realize just what the current situation was, should have pushed him away as soon as she came to her senses, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Cassandra was in control, and Cassandra loved him.

When he finally relaxed and pulled away from her, Necia felt one more tiny surge of strength in which she could think clearly, without interference from her mother. In that instant, two terrified tears welled up in her eyes and slid down her cheeks as she knew she was about to lose control again and she didn't know how to stop it. But before Snape could even see the tears, pain turned her vision to a blur and Cassandra reached up to wipe the tears away in confusion, smiling at Snape and curling up next to him contentedly.


	18. A Long Time Coming

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Haunted

By Be Boring

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Chapter 17: A Long Time Coming

Severus sat behind his desk with his head in his hands, half dozing as his tired mind ran over the events of last night. He had woken very early in the morning while Necia was still sound asleep. He had made a huge mistake, he'd known it the moment he made it, but the problem was what to do about it.

He had known perfectly well whose body he was making love to last night, but somehow the knowledge that it was Cassandra's mind changed everything. It wouldn't have mattered to him if Cassandra had been in any other woman's body, but he felt uncomfortable at the thought that he had slept with her daughter.

Being around him was obviously bringing Cassandra out more. It seemed that before last night, Necia had been in almost total control, but as soon as she was in his presence, Cassandra came out on top.

Listening to Necia move in her sleep in the other room, Severus's eyes wandered to the cauldron. As soon as she woke up, no matter what state of mind she was in, he was going to make her drink the antidote. He loved having Cassandra back again, even in the form she had come to him, but it was no use doing this to himself. The longer Necia remained this way, the more painful it would be for him when Dumbledore finally made him give her the potion. It was better to have it finished quickly.

Severus sighed and leaned back in his chair. He knew what he had to do.

* * *

When Necia woke up, everything that had occurred last night flooded into her mind. Instead of the self-disgust that had overpowered her last time, now a wave of hot fury rushed through her and she sat bolt upright, looking around for Snape. The first time she had blamed it on the potion, but last night Snape had raped her. There was no other word for it. He had known perfectly well who she was, and the fact that he had been remarkably tender only made things worse.

Some rays of murky, gray, early morning light were filtering in through the solitary window on the other side of the room as Necia pulled her robes on as silently as possible. Although she couldn't hear him, she strongly suspected that Snape was in his office and she didn't want him to know that she was awake yet. Her entire body was shaking as her fingers closed around her wand. She didn't know which spell was the best right now, but as it turned out, she didn't need to say any words. Sparks were already shooting out of the end of her wand, and remembering what had happened with Draco, she strode purposefully to the door and simply pointed her wand at Snape's back as he sat before his desk, scrawling something very rapidly on a piece of parchment.

The same white light burst from her wand and struck him squarely between the shoulder blades. His body snapped forward, colliding harshly with the desk as his head whipped around to find the source of the attack. Her feet were rooted to the spot, and after the initial attack, she didn't know how to do the spell again, giving Snape time to pull out his wand and snap, "_Expelliarmus!_" Her wand promptly flew out of her hand and landed in Snape's open palm.

Just as he stood up to approach her, she reached out and snatched a jar filled with small, slimy green eggs and hurled it at him. He managed to lunge out of the way, but he wasn't as lucky with the jar of eel eyes that followed. It struck him in the ribs on the right side with a dull _thud_, jolting the wands out of his hands so that they clattered onto the desk next to him, and crashed to the floor, shattering and splattering the bottom of his robes.

"You son of a bitch!" she screamed as she threw another jar at him, catching him in the stomach this time before it too smashed on the stone floor. "You're disgusting, you're perverted, and I can't believe you ever became a teacher!" She threw the last two jars within arm's reach and ran forward to grab a copy of _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ from his desk, slamming it hard into his shoulder while he was distracted trying to catch his breath again after the last jar, which had hit him directly in the chest.

Before she could make firm contact with his head, he caught the book as it came at him again and threw it aside, grabbing her arms as she attempted to strike him without any weapons. Clutching her wrists firmly, he twisted her around, shoved her into his own chair, picked up his wand, and shouted, "_Impedimenta!_" Necia couldn't move, it was like her entire body was made of stone, so she simply glared at him furiously, silently daring him to try and rape her again. This time she was going straight to Dumbledore to make sure this foul excuse for a human being was fired, perhaps even arrested and sent to Azkaban. She didn't care that her body had been a very willing participant, this time it didn't embarrass her because Dumbledore knew what was going on, and he would be just as angry with Snape as she was.

"Do you still want to take your potion or not?" he spat out, stepping back so that when she regained the ability to move, she wouldn't immediately be able to kick him.

Struggling to speak through the spell, she choked out, "How…know…safe?"

"Foolish girl, I wouldn't poison you right under Dumbledore's nose," he growled in reply, stalking over to grab a beaker.

"Don't mind…doing…other things…under…his nose."

Snape froze halfway through dipping the beaker into the cauldron and turned to look at her, his black eyes glowing with something that she couldn't quite comprehend. "You're wrong," he said in a dangerously quiet voice, filling the beaker with the potion and returning to the desk, setting the beaker down next to her quickly before backing out of her reach again. She would be able to move again very shortly.

"I'll…tell him…everything," she gasped, wishing she could burn him with just her eyes, sear holes right through him and perhaps see if there was even a heart beating behind that angrily heaving chest.

"Go ahead, it won't matter," he muttered, suddenly sounding very tired as he sat down in one of the chairs usually reserved for misbehaving students on the other side of his desk. He reached over the desk and picked up the parchment he had been writing on earlier and held it up for her to see clearly. "I'm going to resign today."

Necia's eyes scanned the letter. Anger was still coursing through her, but now she was angry that he was taking away her opportunity to punish him for what he had done. "Why?" she asked furiously, her voice shaking with barely contained rage.

"Because I was never suitable to be a teacher, and last night made that very clear to me."

As memories once again flooded Necia's head that she knew weren't her own, something became very clear to her as well. She saw a young Snape running from the room as she lay next to another young, much more handsome man with black hair that gave him a rather roguish look, she felt the cold of a brick wall pressed firmly against her back as she hid outside the house of one of Snape's would-be victims with an antidote clenched tightly in her hand, and finally, she heard Dumbledore's soothing voice in another room, closely followed by Snape's voice, sounding the weakest she had ever heard it.

"Coward," she hissed, causing Snape's eyes to widen at first, then narrow into a very defensive expression. "You ran from my mother when she needed you most, and you took every precaution possible to separate yourself from her. You did everything that you knew she wouldn't want you to do, you refused to contact her, and you took out your anger at what you stupidly saw as a betrayal on everyone in sight. You probably only teamed up with Dumbledore when you realized that you weren't actually succeeding in killing anybody and the whole thing got a bit boring for you. When you finally came back here, which you saw as safe because she was no longer here, you were scared away by a mere copy of her. Don't try to make me believe that you're leaving because you feel guilty about what you did to me, you just can't stand the fact that now my mother will be gone again and this place once again holds too many memories that you don't want to deal with. You're a bloody coward, you always have been and always will be, and I can't imagine what my mother ever saw in you."

His fury quite matched her own as their eyes attempted to melt each other. "Not that it's any of your business, but I came back here as an excuse to be in a position to speak regularly with Dumbledore without raising any suspicion if and when the Dark Lord ever returned, and my reasons for joining Dumbledore had nothing whatsoever to do with Cassandra. I've seen things you couldn't even imagine and did a great deal of them myself, and that is both the reason why I joined Dumbledore and why I'm resigning today."

Necia realized very quickly that that meant he had raped women before, and without them being filled with the spirit of the woman he loved. She had no idea what to think about the man in front of her. She hated him now with every fiber of her body, not counting her mother's invading emotions, but she also felt a vague twinge of pity. The only things he knew were misery, pain, and death, and he just didn't seem to be able to live with anything else. He was capable of feeling proud, excited, maliciously pleased, and satisfied in certain areas, but happiness just wasn't within his realm of possibilities. She supposed he must have had some potential when he attended Hogwarts, otherwise her mother wouldn't have forged such a strong connection with him, but now he was a lost cause.

As they sat staring at each other, Necia became suddenly aware that she could move her limbs again. She picked up the beaker and paused, glancing back up at him. "It's too bad, she really loved you, I can feel it right now, but I really don't think you would have been able to make her happy." There was a flash of something in his eyes which looked remarkably like anguish, but she turned away from him and quickly swallowed the contents of the beaker, making a face as it slid with a squelch down her throat.

She didn't really feel any different, but she didn't care to wait in Snape's office for any side effects. If anything happened, she could go to the hospital wing. Without another word to him, she promptly stood up and walked quickly out of the office, heading straight for Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

Severus wasn't sure what he was feeling as he watched her go. Her voice, her mannerisms, and every facial expression that Necia possessed had once belonged to her mother, and to see those features radiating so much hate in his direction was rather hard to take. Still, even behind Necia's anger, some of Cassandra's softness toward him had been shining through, even right after Necia had taken the potion.

It was with a very heavy weight on his shoulders that he headed for Dumbledore's office. Dippet had said that Dumbledore should be back in the morning. It was still very early, but hopefully he was running ahead of schedule. He just wanted to be done with it.

To his surprise, Dumbledore's office door was wide open and the headmaster was sitting at his desk as though he had been expecting company. He smiled slightly at the sight of Severus and held his hands open in welcome. "Come in, Severus, and please close the door behind you." Once he was seated in the chair opposite Dumbledore, the older man said, "I've always known this day would come, but I would have thought you'd wait until the summer to give me the opportunity to find a replacement."

How had he known why he was coming? Severus looked stubbornly down at his folded hands as he answered, "Something has happened that makes waiting a very poor choice."

At least Dumbledore didn't seem as omniscient on this particular topic as he was on most others. "What happened?"

Deciding that the best thing to do was just to spit everything out as fast as humanly possible, he said determinedly, "When Necia Hol..Malfoy took that Channeling Solution and turned into Cassandra, her first reaction was to come looking for me. I had taken a Confusion Draught that evening and wasn't thinking clearly, I thought I was just hallucinating, and we had sex. Then last night after Draco Malfoy attacked her, I was treating her and she turned into Cassandra again, and we slept together again."

Dumbledore became very silent after this revelation. His eyes never left Severus's face, but Severus couldn't bring himself to look at him. "Has she taken the antidote yet?"

"Yes, this morning."

Dumbledore didn't comment, although Severus's reply obviously meant that Necia had spent the entire night in his room. "In that case, I'll have no choice but to accept your resignation, although I wish things had not quite turned out this way."

Now Severus glanced up. "What do you mean?"

It took a long time for Dumbledore to answer, he seemed to be debating about how much to actually say aloud. "What I mean is that I wish you had demonstrated more restraint during your second encounter with Ms. Malfoy, because not only was it a willful shattering of school rules and my personal moral values, which I would expect the teachers to at least respect even if they don't agree, but I also don't think you realize what damage you may have inflicted. When she first took the potion, it was just running its natural course, but apparently you brought out Cassandra after the potion should have been gone. You intensified her side effects, which may well remain with her even now that she's taken the antidote."

"Are you saying that the antidote didn't get rid of Cassandra?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, Cassandra's mind should be gone now, but more of her will remain in her daughter. What I'm referring to are personality traits, emotions, and perhaps a couple memories that Necia saw while she was experiencing the side effects. Because you brought Cassandra into full control long after the potion's effects should have left her body, it will naturally be more difficult for them to completely separate, so Necia will always carry a bit of her mother inside of her."

"I would just like to say that it wasn't my intention to draw Cassandra out. After I had a house-elf take her to the hospital wing, I caught her sneaking back to Gryffindor Tower."

"Yes, that was something I was meaning to ask you about. I assume that Draco attacked her because of his father's trial and his mother's following arrest?"

Severus nodded. It was almost worse that Dumbledore wasn't being more severe, they were practically talking like they always did, but he could sense Dumbledore's very strong disappointment in him. Perhaps he wasn't taking any other action because Severus had already made it very clear that he was going to resign. "That's not the worst of it. When I came across them, he was using the Cruciatus Curse on her."

He saw a glint of the old fire that Dumbledore had when they were fighting against Voldemort. Dumbledore absolutely despised the use of the Unforgivable Curses, and Severus was sure that he didn't like the thought of any of them being used in Hogwarts. "It's so unfortunate that an entire household may very well be going to Azkaban," he said quietly, "but I believe the circumstances call for it. As soon as the Ministry can send someone to take Mr. Malfoy, I would like you to give a statement about what you saw."

"Of course."

"I would also like for you to stay nearby, preferably in Hogsmeade. You're still a very valuable source in catching the remaining Death Eaters. I would like to be able to contact you very quickly in the event that you are needed."

Although he knew it was wisest not to say anything at all right now, seeing as how so far he had gotten off very easily, he couldn't stay quiet. He just didn't understand why Dumbledore wasn't having a stronger reaction to the announcement that one of his teachers had quite knowingly had sex with a student, no matter what the extenuating circumstances were. "Albus, I hope you know that I truly regret the incidents which brought me here today. I knew perfectly well that what I was doing was wrong, so I understand if you feel the need to pursue more than just my resignation."

Dumbledore looked at him with some of his customary amusement. "Any other man would have let the issue rest after I moved on, Severus." When he didn't reply, he continued, "Because of the circumstances surrounding the situation, I am willing to content myself with your resignation, although if Ms. Malfoy insists on further action, I will have no choice but to assist her. Frankly, I don't think she will unless there is less of her mother in her now than I thought. When I said that some of Cassandra's emotions will remain behind, that includes her feelings for you, Severus, which would have been very present in her mind in the hours before she took the antidote."

Severus hadn't really thought about that. As his tired mind tried to wrap itself around the idea that Necia could very well love him on some level, Dumbledore rose from his seat. Severus pulled out his letter of resignation and placed it on the desk before following suit. After sixteen years, it was time to go.

* * *

By lunch time, everyone knew that Snape was no longer teaching. Students that had Potions in the morning eagerly spread around that Dumbledore himself had temporarily taken over the position of Potions professor until a suitable replacement could be found. Necia listened to the speculations that Snape had been injured, maimed, fired, accidentally turned himself permanently into a bat, or even killed. Nobody ever considered the possibility that he had quit of his own volition, although she knew that if he hadn't quit, Dumbledore would have fired him and at least one of the crazy theories flying through the school would be partly right.

Then came the conjectures of why Draco Malfoy was currently unconscious in the infirmary. The Slytherins wasted no time in making it sound as though he had been viciously attacked, and although they never mentioned her by name, possibly because they were afraid of how Dumbledore would react, they strongly hinted toward her. The rest of the school, however, decided that Snape had gone crazy, attacked Malfoy, and now was on his way to Azkaban while Malfoy was stuck in a permanent coma. Necia honestly wished that was the case.

As the other students headed for lunch, however, Necia headed straight for the Room of Requirement. Now that the Slytherins more than likely knew about her little hideaway, she felt it was better to move back into Gryffindor Tower. Kreacher hadn't been there this morning, but hopefully she could catch him before he tried to slink away this time. Sure enough, the old house-elf was sitting in the middle of the living room, mumbling away.

Necia wasted no time. "Just exactly where did you live before you came to find me?"

He looked up at her with an expression of pure distaste. "Kreacher lived in the Noble House of Black."

"Then you can go right back there. Take care of the house and never contact or speak to anyone else again except for me. Got it?"

It took a long time for the house-elf to get up, but when he finally left, Necia was already busy throwing her robes into her trunk to take back to Gryffindor Tower. The corridors should be empty while the students were eating and she wanted to do her best to avoid everyone while she was moving her things. Unfortunately, she had no sooner closed the door of the Room of Requirement behind her than a hand closed around her arm. Startled, she whipped around and paled at the sight of Harry and Ginny. Ginny had actually grabbed her arm, but was now looking curiously down at her trunk.

"Were you _living_ here?"

Necia nodded. "Yeah, but I thought I should go back to the dormitories after…" _'Dammit, I am such an idiot.'_

"After what?" Ginny asked promptly.

Necia looked from one to the other, then figured there was no reason not to tell them. "Lucius Malfoy's trial was yesterday, and Draco found out from Kreacher that I was staying here and came after me. He's Stunned right now in the hospital wing. I bet he'll be going to Azkaban."

Harry raised an eyebrow curiously. "For attacking you? I could see him getting expelled, but you look all right, so why would it be big enough for him to go to Azkaban?"

Necia sighed and levitated her trunk so that she didn't have to drag it the entire way. "Because he used the Cruciatus Curse."

Ginny's and Harry's jaws both dropped briefly as Necia started walking down the corridor with her trunk floating ahead of her. "Were there any witnesses?" Harry asked as soon as he had recovered. "Anyone who will be able to testify against him?"

Necia paused. "Yes, there was. Snape saw it happen."

Just as they were approaching the Fat Lady, Ginny asked suddenly, "Did that have anything to do with why Snape's not teaching anymore?"

Necia didn't look back at them as she shrugged. "I don't know. I wasn't really conscious when Snape came across us, so maybe they fought, something big happened, and that's why he quit." The moment she said it, she wished she could smack herself on the forehead without looking suspicious. _'Dammit, dammit, dammit! When will I ever learn to keep my big mouth shut?'_

"He _quit_?" they both asked simultaneously. "Why?" Ginny blurted out.

"How do you know?" Harry slipped in before she even had a chance to think about answering.

Necia muttered the password and let her trunk fall to the floor as soon as they entered the common room. Thankfully no one else was there. She sat down in a nearby chair wearily before replying, "I..don't know why he quit, but I saw his letter of resignation this morning in his office." Before either could open their mouths to ask why as they both also pulled up chairs, she started explaining, "When I was with Lucius, he gave me a potion that he said would let me talk to my mother. Ginny knows this already but I guess you ought to know, Harry, that I took it last Friday. I still hadn't figured out what it was, but I was upset and didn't really care if it was something dangerous. I still don't know what it was, but I've a lot of side effects. Snape's been working on making an antidote for it and that's why I was in his office this morning. He had just finished making the antidote and it was best if I took it immediately. That's when I saw the letter."

Silence followed her short story as Harry and Ginny let the information sink in. As she watched them, it occurred to her that they had been hanging around each other a lot since they discovered she was a Malfoy. She had rarely seen one without the other unless they were heading to classes in different parts of the castle. "I still have a few things to bring back," she said quickly, really just wanting a moment to be alone. Perhaps if she left them to their thoughts, Harry would come around faster and he and Ginny could warm Hermione and Ron up to the idea of being friends with her again. Ginny was already on her side, but Harry was on the edge and Ron and Hermione so far didn't seem to be even considering it. Of course, she hadn't seriously spoken to them since they had fought. Maybe they weren't as far away as she thought.

Striding back down the corridors alone, Necia was very surprised when she heard someone call her name. Turning, she was surprised to see Professor Lupin hurrying down the passage after her. "I'm glad I found you," he said as he drew even with her. "I've been meaning to speak with you for a while now."

As they stepped into his office, Necia had no idea what he wanted to talk about. Did this have something to do with her fight with Draco? Or rather, Draco's complete demolishing of her body. When he had seated himself behind his desk, Lupin smiled gently at her and said, "You didn't show up to my class yesterday afternoon, although I know why now, otherwise I would have approached you then. After Kreacher showed up on Saturday, I more or less figured out for myself that you are Sirius's daughter. I don't know if you knew it or not, but Sirius and I were very close friends. I just thought if you had any questions about him, perhaps you'd like to ask me. I did look around for a few things for you which I thought you might like."

Completely mystified, Necia took a brown paper package from Lupin's outstretched hand and opened it. Inside were several pictures of Sirius Black, most of them from when he was much younger, but a couple that must have been taken in the year before he died, when he had been helping the Order from his family's house. Harry had told her about that long ago, but she hadn't thought anything of it. She couldn't believe how much older he looked in the last two photographs. He was really only fourteen years older, but it easily could have been twenty-four years. Azkaban must have taken a lot out of him.

The longer she looked at him, the more she recognized little things about him that were very similar to her. She had obviously inherited much more from her mother, but she could still see her own features in his face. With everything that had been going on, Sirius hadn't been on her mind at all even though she now knew just who he was, but now numb shock was filling her as she looked at the man who was quite clearly her father.

Flushing at the thoughtfulness of the gift, she mumbled, "If you didn't know anything about it, then that definitely means that he…?"

"No, he didn't know about you. Believe me, if he had known, there is no way you'd have reached this age without meeting him, because he would have stormed straight through your front door just to see you. Real family was something he had always wanted because he was so estranged from his own family, and if he had known he had a daughter somewhere, he would have done anything to be near you. I really wish you could have met him. I know he would have loved you more than you may ever understand."

Necia was quite surprised to find tears prickling behind her eyes. "I know he was close to Harry."

"Yes, Harry was probably the most important person in the world to him. James was his best friend, and since Harry was orphaned Sirius really felt that he should be the one taking care of him. He sort of adopted Harry as his own son. I'm sure Harry would be happy to share stories about him with you."

She forced herself to smile at him, willing herself not to cry in front of him. If she was going to cry, she wanted to be alone. "Thank you for the pictures, that was really nice of you."

"Don't mention it, it was nothing."

As they stood up, Necia noticed something on his desk. "Is that a picture of Tonks?"

Lupin flushed and almost moved as though he was going to cover the picture, then thought better of it. "Yes, it is," he replied in a would-be casual voice.

Now an honest smile broke out on her face. "Are you two together?"

He was obviously unsure of how to handle the situation in a professional manner, but it was quite apparent that he'd never found himself in this position before. "Well, that's really not a school appropriate…doesn't really concern you…well, it's nothing serious," he finished finally, looking thoroughly frustrated with his inability to speak more clearly than an awkward mumble.

"I think it's sweet," she said with a shadow of a real smile on her face. It was nice to be reminded of something that she had contemplated before everything went wrong. Although her plan hadn't quite worked out how she would have liked, the end result was still the same. And judging by the fact that Lupin was truly embarrassed, which she would never have expected, things were working out very well. "I'll see you next class," she said when she finally decided she had embarrassed him enough, and headed down the hall with her father's pictures clutched tightly in her hand.


	19. The Trial From Hell

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Haunted

By Be Boring

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Chapter 18: The Trial From Hell

The past few weeks had been incredibly relaxed, much more so than Necia would have ever expected. Speaking to Ron and Hermione again was much easier than she had thought it would be, and although things weren't back to normal yet, the trio had no problem with her sitting by them in the common room, in class, and at meals. Actually, they weren't so much of a trio anymore, because Ginny rarely spent any time with anyone else. She and Harry were without a doubt dating now, although neither would admit it, and Necia was having very strong suspicions about Ron and Hermione. Their bickering had slowed down lately, and although it could have been her imagination, she could have sworn she caught Ron studying Hermione with a look that conveyed much more than mere friendship.

"When are you just going to say it out loud?" she asked Ginny as they sat down at the Gryffindor table for breakfast one morning.

"Say what?" Ginny asked innocently as she eagerly began devouring her eggs.

"That you and Harry are dating."

Ginny nearly choked. She took a quick drink of orange juice to wash down the rest of her mouthful, then looked at Necia with a very unconvincing look of polite innocence on her face. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Right, and Flitwick's six feet tall. Come on, everyone can see it, why won't you just say it?"

Ginny blushed. "Because I don't know if we're technically dating. We haven't gone out or anything."

"Have you kissed?" Just the look on Ginny's face was enough answer. Necia laughed and asked, "So was it worth the wait?"

Now a sheepish grin crossed Ginny's face. "Yeah, it was pretty nice." For a moment she looked as though she was thinking about something very serious, then she said quietly, "When you and Harry were going out, just how close did you get? I mean, did you…?"

Necia shook her head. "No, we didn't sleep together, but we came very close once. At the Yule Ball when Harry took me to the Room of Requirement and I was really overwhelmed at seeing my house again, it nearly happened."

"Why did you stop?"

"I wasn't ready. Harry understood and we came back here. It was kind of awkward for a bit after that, but we got over it. How close have you two gotten?"

Ginny's eyes widened. "Oh, not that close. We've only kissed, he hasn't even done any extra touching." She suddenly seemed very embarrassed to be talking about her relationship with Harry. "Okay, when you say that you came close, just how close was it?"

"Ginny," Necia said almost severely, "I think you're better off if we don't talk about this."

"Come on, just answer the question."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, I was completely naked and he was over halfway there, but when he tried to do some 'extra touching,' as you called it, I panicked and had to stop. Listen, it's not really as big of a deal as it seems. I always thought it would change my entire life to be near a guy like that, even if we didn't actually do anything, but once we got over being uncomfortable, it was pretty much business as usual. Did we seem strange at your house over the holidays?"

"No," Ginny replied quietly. "You seemed just like normal."

"See, so things aren't really any different now either. Are you worried about Harry still having feelings for me?"

She shrugged. "If you two got that close, then yeah, I'm a little worried. How can you just be friends now?"

"Because he doesn't trust me anymore and frankly, I have way too much on my mind to think about really dating someone. Besides, I think he's always really liked you, but maybe it took getting royally pissed off at me to make him realize it. I think you guys are really cute together."

Ginny smiled. "Thanks. I'm pretty happy with it. How have you been doing? You're so quiet all of the time. Why do I get the feeling that I'm completely missing out on something?"

_'Because you are.' _"You're not, I'm just trying not to push it with anyone right now. Besides, there's N.E.W.T.s to study for and I'm studying potions on my own now." Dumbledore was still handling the Potions lessons, which he apparently was planning to do for the rest of the year and hire a replacement over the summer, but instead of working directly with her, he had given her free rein to study the potions she liked. She had a permanent pass to the Restricted Section because so many of the potions that were on her level couldn't be found in the other books, and she had permission to use ingredients from the private stores that used to belong to Snape.

She had done her best not to think about Snape ever since he left, but that was going to be difficult. Draco's trial was later today and they were both required to be there. After all, she was the victim and Snape was the sole witness. Unless Draco confessed, which so far he had refused to do, and the strong magic in the air around Hogwarts made it impossible for the Ministry to tell if the Cruciatus Curse had been used, then they would be forced to attend the trial. It was Necia's and Snape's word against Draco's.

Draco was still at Hogwarts, but he was being kept in a secret location in the castle, heavily guarded by a consistently rotating group of Aurors to prevent any of his friends from coming to his rescue. After Voldemort's defeat, Arthur Weasley had refused to allow the dementors back in control of Azkaban, and with both Lucius and Narcissa - who had been found guilty at her own trial - there, the Ministry didn't think it was safe to also bring Draco. In the cells where he would have waited for his trial, he would have been very close to his mother, and without the dementors it simply wasn't wise to allow that. So far he hadn't escaped, so the Aurors were evidently doing their job well.

The bright side of this was that Tonks was regularly at the castle, which meant she spent quite a bit of her spare time around Lupin. Necia took great pleasure in pointing out to Harry how perfect they were together, despite the fact that every time he saw them together, his face distorted as though he had a strong stomachache. Ron tended to develop that expression as well, but Hermione agreed with Necia that they looked like a rather happy couple. Ginny loved bombarding Tonks with questions, but she could only do this when Harry wasn't around, otherwise he tended to look as though his stomachache had progressed into an ulcer.

With the cheerier side of things starting to shine a little more, Necia didn't even want to think about the upcoming trial. Besides, it was still a few hours away. That was plenty of time to prepare herself, right?

* * *

It had been a very lonely time for Severus. He hadn't realized just how accustomed he was to being surrounded by people until he isolated himself in his room at the Hog's Head. Dumbledore had tried to convince him to take a room somewhere else, but he felt the Hog's Head suited him.

He rarely left the inn, usually only doing so just to get some fresh air, but the rest of the time it was because Dumbledore wanted to talk. The Aurors were closing in on what they believed to be all of the remaining Death Eaters, and every piece of advice he could give them was precious. He knew all of the tactics they would use to seal their hideout against the Aurors, as well as the vast majority of the dark curses they knew, so the Aurors could prepare themselves more thoroughly. He was a veritable treasure chest of information for the Ministry.

When he woke up on the morning of Draco's trial, it felt as though he had swallowed a boulder sometime during the night. He would see Necia today for the first time since she had stormed out on him after taking the antidote. Dumbledore had informed him that she seemed to be returning to normal and had even managed to salvage her friendship with Potter's gang. He supposed it was for the best, she would recover much faster if she was happy. But did he really want her to recover?

The thought of Cassandra had plagued him ever since Necia took the antidote. Their time together hadn't given him much closure other than the knowledge that Cassandra truly loved him, and instead of feeling a sense of finality, his desire to see her only seemed to have intensified, but now she really was gone. Necia was hardly a suitable substitute, although he knew there was a good chance that some of her mother's affections were still lying dormant inside of her.

When he Apparated to the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic, many curious stares flew his way. Most of them knew who he was and he realized he didn't look very good today. He hadn't shaved in days and his robes were rather rumpled, but he had at least taken a shower. He didn't need to give a completely terrible impression at the trial.

"Well, Snape, long time no see," came a low, growling voice from behind him. Severus turned to find himself facing Mad-Eye Moody, who had trained both eyes on him.

"The pleasure is all yours, believe me," he muttered back, just loud enough for Moody to hear him without any passersby being able to eavesdrop.

Moody's knarled face twisted into a grotesque smile. "Same old Snape. I'm supposed to escort you down to the courtroom. Maybe we can catch up along the way."

"How exciting," he sighed as they stepped onto a lift and Moody jabbed the button for level nine.

"Say, Snape, I was rather curious about why you quit your job. I would have thought that if you were going to do it, you'd have done it years ago. You don't seem like the type to put up with kids. Perhaps something happened to convince you to leave at such an odd time." His tone was as light and conversational as it was possible for it to be, but it still made Snape's insides curl with anger.

"It's none of your business, Alastor, and I'd appreciate it if you'd leave it alone." He was the first one off the lift when it reached the Department of Mysteries, sweeping down the staircase at the edge of the hall and whipping open the door to the courtroom. He had been here during his own trial so many years ago, when he'd been forced to admit that yes, he had been a Death Eater, but he'd been an active spy for Dumbledore for over a year.

Dumbledore was already waiting, and sitting on the bench next to him was Necia. Her face paled significantly when she saw him, but then she focused her eyes on her shoes and didn't look at him again, not even when Dumbledore motioned for him to join them and he sat down on Dumbledore's other side.

It was several minutes before Draco was led in by Kingsley and Moody, staring at the floor in front of him as though he were in a daze. When he sat down in the chair and the enchanted chains twisted around his arms to lock him in, Severus noticed that his fists were very tightly clenched.

"Draco Malfoy," Arthur Weasley said, standing up and letting the light wash over his face that had so far failed to illuminate the other members of the court. "You have been charged with the use of an Unforgivable Curse against a student of Hogwarts. Do you deny it?"

There was a very exaggerated silence, then Arthur repeated himself. "Do you deny that you used the Cruciatus Curse?"

Severus focused his eyes on the boy, noticing his fists once again. Was one of them slightly larger than the other, or was it just his imagination?

"Draco Malfoy, did you or did you not attack Necia Malfoy with the Cruciatus Curse?"

Draco's eyes coldly rose to meet Arthur's. Arthur didn't falter, but he was obviously surprised by the cold fury in the young man's face. "She deserved it," he whispered, his voice barely reaching Severus, who was sitting in the front row.

"Come again?" Arthur asked loudly, trying to encourage Draco to speak up.

"I said she deserved it!" Draco shouted, releasing his fists the moment he finished. It was like a bomb had exploded in the middle of the courtroom. A strange dust had sprinkled from his right hand, detonating every piece of floor it came into contact with. He threw himself to the left as the floor beneath his chair exploded, but as debris rocketed around the room, it was clear that he had been injured. Before anything could hit them, Dumbledore had pulled out his wand and conjured a very large, silvery, transparent shield to cover all three of them, and through the thick clouds of dust and smoke, Severus could see Draco stumbling awkwardly toward the door, his right fist once again clenched tight. The chair must have released him once it was no longer bolted to the floor. _'He didn't drop all of the powder,'_ he realized, and Kingsley was standing just outside the door.

Without really thinking, while Dumbledore was making sure Necia was all right, he tore down the row and threw himself at Draco from behind just before he could reach the door. Of all things, Draco couldn't get away. He needed desperately for everything involving the Death Eaters to end, and that wouldn't happen if Lucius's son was on the loose.

The only thing he hadn't really considered was the fact that if the powder would be damaging to Kingsley, it wouldn't be any safer for him, and their crash to the ground forced Draco's hand to unclench.

* * *

When the second explosion rang out, Dumbledore dragged Necia nearly to the floor by the neck. Chunks of the benches near the entrance to the courtroom flew threw the air exactly where Necia's head had been moments before.

"Stay here and keep low," he whispered urgently to her before leaping up and running to the middle of the room, where the balcony holding the Wizengamot had partially collapsed.

Amid the shouts and the sounds of people scrabbling through the rubble, Necia raised her head slightly to see what was going on. Suddenly, she realized that Snape was no longer sitting nearby. Where had he gone? She pushed herself to her feet and slowly picked her way through the ruins of what had been the set of tiered benches closest to the door of the courtroom. If Draco was going to get away, he would have had to have come this way. Had he dropped some more of that dust to get rid of any guards?

As she stepped onto a particularly large pile of debris, she heard a very low groan from right beneath her feet. Horrified, she leapt to the ground and started scooping bits of stone and wood away as fast as she could. Had she stood on someone? Suddenly, an arm shot out of the pile and gripped her shoulder painfully. She gasped and jerked back, dragging Snape out with her.

At first it was hard to even tell it was him. He was covered from head to toe in dust that looked like it was badly mixed with some thick liquid. It took Necia a moment to realize that it was blood. How could he have so much blood on him? A long streak had been gouged out of his jawline on the right side and his right arm was hanging at a very odd angle, blood dripping from his motionless fingertips as he raised himself uncertainly to his feet. He looked dazed, his eyes weren't focused on her at all, and as he tipped precariously to one side, Necia lunged forward and grabbed him, grunting as his weight came down mercilessly on her shoulder. She gave one mighty heave and propped him against the very pile of rubble she had pulled him out of.

It had been difficult to be near him before, but that had been because of the awkwardness of the situation. Now something else flared inside of her: sheer panic. She just couldn't believe how much blood was on him. Then, as her mind slowly came to its senses, she realized that it couldn't all be his, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to even pull himself out of that pile. A deep gash in his side was obviously adding its fair share of blood to the rest that covered him, but she knew the majority had come from someone else.

"Professor," she said automatically, although "Sev" had also been on the tip of her tongue, "where did all this blood come from? What happened?"

He didn't seem to hear her at all, he just leaned heavily against the mountain of stone and continued to stare blearily off into space. Necia had stopped looking at him, however, Her eyes had just landed on a hand sticking out of the pile. It wasn't moving at all, but she still darted forward and continued pulling rocks away until she could see the back of someone's head. The rest of his face was still buried in the pile, but she didn't need to remove anything more. Although heavily bloodstained, she would have recognized Draco's hair anywhere. Her stomach gave one terrible lurch and she dropped to her knees, vomiting what little breakfast she had eaten that morning. The smell of blood was overpowering, and right now she didn't even want to imagine what Draco's face looked like. If that dust had exploded right beneath him, there wouldn't be much left of him.

Without warning, Snape slumped to the ground, blood flowing steadily from the gash in his side. She scrambled over on all fours, tapping the side of his face and whispering, "Sev? Sev, wake up!" She didn't even notice what she was saying as she shook him by his good shoulder. She could still hear his raspy breathing, so at least he was still alive, but blood was pouring out of him in copious amounts by now. Apparently moving around had opened the wound farther.

"Please move aside, I'll try to help him," a very deep, rather soothing voice said gently in her ear. Kingsley kneeled down beside her and inspected Snape's wounds, then tapped his wand against Snape's ribs and muttered something that she didn't understand. "I've only slowed down the bleeding, he'll need true Healers to actually be cured. He'll be all right for now, but would you please stay by him and try to wake him up? As soon as he's awake, try to keep him that way, do you understand?" She nodded a tad too enthusiastically, making her head throb in protest, but he smiled comfortingly at her and gave her shoulder a light squeeze before he hurried to join Dumbledore in helping the injured out of the ruins of the balcony.

"Professor, you have to wake up," she said anxiously, her head clearing slightly after seeing a comforting adult who appeared to know what to do in a crisis. Against her better judgment, she gave him a rather hard smack on the side of the face, the sound echoing softly around them. "I need you to wake up, I really don't want someone to die right in front of me again," she added brokenly, suddenly realizing that she had said "again." A very brief flash of her mother swept through her mind, sprawled on the kitchen floor right next to the table, her eyes wide open and slightly afraid, as though she had just realized what Lucius was going to do right before he cursed her.

"Wake up!" she nearly shouted, giving him a very hard shove on the chest. His eyelids flickered up, but before he could close them she grabbed his chin and pointed his face toward hers. "Look at me," she said firmly, feeling the panic grow when their eyes connected and he seemed to recognize her, but instead of saying her name, he whispered, "Cass."

"No, I'm Necia," she whispered back, her panic nearly seizing her throat at the sound of her mother's name. That wasn't a good sign, he had no idea what was going on. What was she going to do if he just died right there, no more than two feet from her? She didn't think she could take it.

"Necia, it's going to be all right, but I'll need you to step back and let the Aurors take him." This time it was Dumbledore's voice cutting through the frenzied fog in her head and his hand on her shoulder, gently pulling her away from Snape. "They'll take care of him now," he said gently as she slowly stood next to him, shaking uncontrollably. She just couldn't take her eyes off of his limp form. He was still breathing, but that didn't mean he would keep going for long. He must have been right there when the rest of the dust exploded. As the Aurors levitated him and took him away, she allowed Dumbledore to steer her out the door and back up into one of the lifts.

When they used Floo Powder to return to Dumbledore's office, it hardly registered that Madam Pomfrey was actually waiting for them, holding a cup of potion. Necia shook her head shakily as she held it out to her.

"No, I don't want to drink anything." She wasn't interested in ever taking a potion again.

"Necia, please take it, it will allow you to get some sleep," Dumbledore insisted.

"But it's the middle of the afternoon," she protested feebly, already accepting the cup from Madam Pomfrey. She waited to drink it until she was in the hospital wing, and despite her misgivings, she was truly relieved to settle down into the bed and fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

When Severus woke up again, he knew right away that he had been out for a long time. Candles floating in bubbles above him were the only source of light, and when Dumbledore entered the room, he looked as though he had showered and changed first, more than likely with plenty of time to spare. He knew he must have been unconscious for at least six hours to need to rely on the candles.

"How are you feeling?" Dumbledore asked quietly as he conjured a very cushioned chair next to Severus's bed.

"Like someone beat me with a cauldron," he grunted painfully. His jaw ached, although he was quite sure that if a wound had been there before, it was no longer there now. What hurt the most, however, were his ribs on the right side. "How bad was it?"

"You're very lucky to have survived. It appears that young Mr. Malfoy's body took most of the impact, most of your injuries were derived from the debris of the floor beneath you."

"Does that mean…?"

"Draco didn't survive the blast. I have no idea how he managed to acquire dried dragon bile or how he knew the charm to prevent it from exploding in his hands before he dropped it, but it was very effective. He probably would have gotten away if it weren't for you, and I'm sure if he had used any of it near Kingsley, with only one person to aim at he would have killed him instantly. Thanks to you, no one innocent died today. Or actually, I should say yesterday, because it won't be long until dawn now."

Why did he have the strongest feeling that Cassandra had been with him when he was in so much pain? He still remembered the blast, but he could also hear her panicked voice. Then it clicked for him. "What happened with Necia after I stopped Draco?"

"She pulled you out of the rubble and probably saved your life, because otherwise you would have suffocated. I didn't even see you run off to stop the boy, and I'm sure none of the Wizengamot had their eyes on you. She was sincerely worried about you. I believe she may still be asleep in the hospital wing. I asked Poppy to keep her there through the night."

Although he had been unconscious for several hours, sleep sounded very good to Severus. As though he knew what he was thinking, Dumbledore picked up a potion from the bedside table. "They told me to give this to you if you woke up. It will help heal that wound on your side while you're sleeping. The rest of the cuts the Healers could take care of right away, but that gash is a bit more serious. Hopefully you'll be back to normal when you wake up."

Severus nodded his thanks very lightly and swallowed the potion in one gulp, grateful for the blackness which washed over him almost immediately.


	20. In the Bakery

****

Haunted

By Be Boring

****

Chapter 19:In the Bakery

In the two days following the trial, Necia realized something that disturbed her deeply. Ever since waking up from her induced sleep, she had been almost constantly worried about Snape. The image of his weak, blood-soaked body hadn't left her once. Whenever she closed her eyes, she saw him lying there, breathing with a sound that she supposed wasn't too different from a death rattle.

So far she had been unable to speak about what had happened because she couldn't bring herself to picture Draco's dead body again. Strangely enough, the news about the catastrophic trial hadn't been put out in the _Daily Prophet_, and no announcement had been made at school. The morning after, her friends had bombarded her with questions about whether Draco had been found guilty or not, but the look on her face made them back off. Not even Crabbe and Goyle knew about what had happened. Even students from other houses had been asking them, but they just shrugged in their ape-ish way and lumbered off, refusing to talk to anyone else.

It was on the third morning that Necia knew she would have to get it off her chest. She couldn't stand the interrogations anymore. Everyone, and that meant absolutely everyone, wanted to know what had happened in that courtroom, and she was the only one who could tell them other than Dumbledore, who hadn't made any kind of announcement. She figured he was waiting for all of Draco's relatives to be informed first. Perhaps that was what was taking the _Daily Prophet_ so long.

When she walked down to the Great Hall where the others were already sitting, it seemed that they could tell by her face that she had something to say, because they all fell dead silent. She took her time sitting down, taking a huge drink of orange juice before clearing her throat a little bit.

"Still nothing in the _Daily Prophet_?"

Hermione shook her head and held up the paper, where the cover story had a large picture of what seemed to be a national dueling competition. Ginny leaned forward conspiratorially so that no one passing by could hear them and whispered, "So just what happened? It must have been something big, otherwise you could have just told us right away." It occurred to Necia that this was the first time Ginny had actually asked her. They were closer, maybe Ginny could sense that she hadn't been ready to talk yet.

She looked around at them all nervously, then dived into the story. "When Draco showed up, he brought some kind of dust or powder with him that when he dropped it, it blew up everything it touched. He blew up the middle of the room, then I think Snape ran to stop him from getting away, because there was a huge explosion by the door. He must have knocked him over, because I'm sure Draco was going to use the remaining powder to get out of the Ministry, but I guess when they fell the rest of it went off. Dumbledore went to help the Wizengamot because the first explosion made part of their balcony collapse, but I went over to where Snape and Draco were. They were completely buried under this huge pile of broken rocks and pieces of the benches around them. I pulled Snape out, but he was really hurt. He was completely covered in blood and there was this huge gash in his side. It was like he couldn't see me, and his breathing sounded absolutely horrible. Then I tried to get to Draco, but…" She couldn't bring herself to say it aloud.

Everyone was staring at her in shock. If they had been expecting anything, it hadn't been that. "Did you see him?" Ginny asked gently.

She nodded. "Not his face or anything, I stopped digging before that, but I could see the back of his head. There was just so much blood." She had to stop for a moment and close her eyes to collect herself, then finished, "If Snape knocked him over and he fell forward, then there couldn't have been much left of his front side, so it's probably a really good thing that I didn't see his face."

"Was anyone else hurt?" Hermione asked quietly.

"No one died as far as I know, I don't know much about other injuries. Snape really didn't look good, but the last time I saw him he was still alive and the Aurors were taking him to St. Mungo's."

"Hope the git snuffs it," Ron said grimly, stuffing several strips of bacon into his mouth, but at the look on Necia's face, he immediately slowed down his chewing and looked at the table, looking slightly ashamed of himself. "Srrydidn mean upsechew," he managed to force out.

"Come on, Necia, it's just Snape," Harry tried to point out. "What's the big deal?"

"Well, it all sounds great to say you wish someone would just die, but that's before you see them actually at death's door," she replied quietly. "One Auror had me try to keep him conscious, and he was really out of it. At first I couldn't even get him to wake up. It's just hard to see anyone like that," she finished lamely. She really wished she could find out if he was okay, but she didn't want him to know that she had any interest in whether he lived or died, which meant she couldn't ask Dumbledore, but that left her without any options.

When Ginny headed to Charms and the others went to Potions, she was just starting to contemplate a route she didn't really want to have to take, but she knew she wouldn't have any peace of mind until she knew Snape was still alive. She had suspected that he was staying in Hogsmeade somewhere, so maybe she would have to go there herself.

* * *

Severus woke up much more calm and rested than usual, although the ache in his side quickly brought him back to reality. He had used the Confusion Draught again last night to help him relax, although the Healers had highly recommended that he not ingest anything other than normal food for at least a week. He hadn't even waited twenty-four hours after he returned to the Hog's Head.

It had taken the Healers a while to correct the damage caused by the gash in his side. It apparently ran much deeper than they had at first anticipated and had practically demolished every organ in the vicinity. At least the Healers seemed to know how to fix everything, although it meant that he had spent nearly forty-eight hours at St. Mungo's. He'd never been there so long in his life. Dumbledore hadn't visited since the early morning hours after the trial, so there was absolutely nothing to do once he had finished reading the paper. In fact, he had slowly made his way through every recent edition of every newspaper and magazine he could get his hands on just to pass the time. After returning to Hogsmeade, he had spent a great deal of time just walking around the town, so relieved to be breathing outside air that he had no interest in returning to the musty atmosphere of the Hog's Head.

For one of the few times in his life, he actually wanted to go out for breakfast. After showering and putting on a fresh set of robes, he headed down the empty street in search of any place that looked as though it had good food. He stepped into a tiny bakery that was filled to the top with the scent of pastries and began looking at the different baked goods with his stomach rumbling. Getting hurt had surged his appetite into high gear.

"I'd like a blueberry muffin," he told the portly, friendly-looking older blonde witch behind the counter.

She smiled cheerily at him. "Here you go, and these are on the house today," she added, setting a tiny glass bowl of doughnut holes covered in powdered sugar on the counter next to his muffin. He paid her quickly and sat down in a booth at the edge of the shop. It had been a long time since he'd had doughnut holes.

"Where have you been?" Severus asked with only half his attention actually on Cassandra, who had just arrived in the library despite the fact that she had been going to meet him nearly twenty minutes earlier. The rest of his attention was on his Transfiguration essay.

"I just had this insane craving after I dropped the rest of my books off in my room, so I made a little detour by the kitchens," she replied, pulling out a large white cloth that had been crudely used as a bag. He looked up curiously only to see several different kinds of doughnut holes come rolling across the table as they escaped from the bag. She had managed to get them smothered in everything sweet that he could imagine, but the ones covered in chocolate frosting were making a beeline for his essay. He just barely managed to get the parchment out of the way in time, but instead one of the tiny balls rolled off the table and landed neatly in his lap, leaving a large chocolate smear on his robes when he picked it up.

"Sorry," she said very unconvincingly as she popped a cinnamon covered ball into her mouth.

"I doubt it," he commented dully, absentmindedly eating the doughnut hole that had dropped into his lap. It wasn't half bad, even though a lot of the frosting was still on his robes. "Why do you always get these when you're craving something sweet? I'd rather have a regular doughnut."

"I don' know, I jus' li'e 'em," she replied through a mouthful of doughnut.

"Snivellus is eating in the library? How very naughty of him," James sneered as he stepped out from behind a bookcase. For once it appeared that he was alone, for there was no sign of his obedient guard dog, Sirius.

"What are you doing in the library, Potter? I thought you were under the impression you knew everything, and I also wasn't all too sure you could read."

"Don't be so charming, Snape, some people might actually start to like you." With that, he picked up a very sugary doughnut hole and lifted it up to study it. "At least it doesn't look like you touched this one. I wouldn't want to get food poisoning."

Just before he managed to put the sweet to his lips, Cassandra took out her wand and murmured, "Reducto._" The doughnut exploded into a cloud of dust right in James's face and he leapt back, choking and clearing his throat loudly to get out any doughnut dust that had rushed down his throat before he had expected it. His hazel eyes landed on her. _

"You know, you're not nearly as nice on the inside as you are on the outside," he snapped angrily, dusting the crumbs off his robes.

"Just because I'm not nice to you doesn't mean I'm not nice," she commented idly, thoroughly enjoying one of the powdered balls. She didn't even look up as James swept out of their portion of the library, but she smiled indulgently at Severus once he was gone. "That felt really good," she chuckled, carefully selecting a rather plump little sweet that looked as though it had been rolled through a mile of sugar.

Severus smiled back and returned to his essay. An actual smile for the day meant it hadn't been a total loss after all.

Reducto. 

That was the first memory he had had of her since the night Necia had taken the potion. After that night, his thoughts had dwelled almost constantly on his newer memories, but it was the old ones that were real. That was the time he and Cassandra had truly been together, even if they weren't sleeping together, no matter how much he had wanted to. Everything after that had involved Necia, and therefore just didn't seem as pure to him. Not that anything in his life could actually be considered pure, but Cassandra had come close. That was what had infuriated him so much about the night of Necia's conception. After that, Cassandra was tainted, whether she wanted to be or not.

As he slowly ate his muffin, he began to have the very uneasy feeling of being watched. That's when his eyes landed on the window and the deep blue pair of eyes looking back at him.

* * *

It took Necia quite a bit of searching through the seventh year boys' dormitory to find Harry's Invisibility Cloak. She wished she also knew the secret passage that he took to Honeydukes, but seeing as how she didn't, she would have to make due with the little secrets she did know about.

Of course she felt guilty about borrowing Harry's cloak without asking, especially since he had told her in complete confidence about it so long ago, but she couldn't see any other options, and besides, she wasn't planning on keeping it. She would probably miss Care of Magical Creatures, but she figured it was worth it just to ease her mind. She knew it was her mother's fault she was feeling this way, but that didn't make it any less real.

Slipping through the gates of Hogwarts wasn't too difficult, but she knew it would look suspicious if anyone had been looking out the window at that precise moment. Once she was in the village, she realized she had no idea where to start looking. If he was staying at an inn, how would she get a look at him? She couldn't very well look through his window if he was still in his room.

She had wandered around the village for nearly half an hour, peering through windows with the Invisibility Cloak wrapped securely around her, when she stumbled in a dip in the road and the cloak landed next to her as she just barely managed to throw out her arms in time to catch herself before her face hit the dirt. Shoving herself back to her feet, she was just about to reach down and pick up the cloak when her eyes landed on the nearest shop window. Snape was sitting inside, seated comfortably at a booth and meditatively eating a large blueberry muffin. Before she could even think to grab the cloak, he looked up and their eyes connected.

She felt a tiny shiver race through her, but suddenly she found herself overwhelmed with relief. _'He's all right, now I can just forget about everything Mum left in me and move on.'_ Unfortunately, the portly little witch who owned the bakery came bustling out and grabbed her arm, smiling with more cheer than Necia believed should be allowed.

"Please come in, dear, isn't it a bit chilly for you to be outside without a cloak?" As the woman began to lead Necia inside, she kicked the Invisibility Cloak into the shadows next to the tiny stone steps leading into the shop. The woman let go of her once they were inside, and she found herself standing right next to Snape's booth.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" he asked as he pushed his muffin away, apparently no longer interested in it.

"I felt like getting out for a bit, not that it's any of your business," she snapped, already turning for the door. She had satisfied her need to know how he was, there was no point in hanging around. She certainly hadn't wanted to speak to him.

"Sit down," he ordered quietly. He certainly didn't make it sound as though it was optional.

"No."

"Sit down," he repeated more firmly, gesturing to the empty space across from him. "We need to talk."

She sat down huffily in the booth with her arms crossed. "I don't see what we have to talk about."

"I think there's plenty. For one thing, why are you in Hogsmeade during school hours?"

"This is my free time, remember?"

He nodded, apparently remembering that today would have been her classmates' Advanced Potions lesson. "But that still doesn't explain why you're off school grounds. Students are only allowed off the grounds on holidays and Hogsmeade weekends."

"I don't think that concerns you anymore. You don't have any authority at Hogwarts now."

His black eyes seemed to burn into her. "But you're forgetting that I'm still friends with Dumbledore, who fortunately _does_ have authority and plenty of it."

She glared sulkily out of the window. Coming here had been a huge mistake. Why had she allowed herself to be worried about him? "I can't imagine Dumbledore being friends with a pig like you." She could still feel his eyes on her, but she refused to look at him.

"You know perfectly well what happened," he said under his breath, so that his voice didn't carry to the owner of the shop. "Of all things, I don't consider myself to be a pig."

Now Necia turned to stare in disbelief at him. "I already know that you go to the Porter's Inn during the holidays and find yourself a blonde whore to spend the night with you. How can you be anything other than a pig if you've been fucking strange women for years and imagining they're my mother?"

She had definitely caught him by surprise, but he recovered quickly. Still, she liked that brief moment when his eyes had widened in genuine shock. It was good to know that she could take him off guard. It made her feel more powerful. "Now I think it's my turn to say that what I do is none of your business. I'm a grown man, what I choose to do with my spare time is my decision."

"So you don't deny that you've been screwing my mother in your mind for years?"

For some reason, he half-smiled very strangely at her. "No, I won't deny it, but I think my little hobby has lost some of its appeal. After all, I managed to get as close as possible to the real thing not too long ago."

If she could have incinerated him with her eyes, she would have. "You're disgusting."

"So you've told me."

"How many other students have you taken advantage of? There are plenty of blondes at Hogwarts. Perhaps you managed to get that Slytherin whore Pansy into your bed? Actually, she's probably more the type to sit under your desk while you correct papers. I guess now we know why every now and then you give good grades."

His lip curled as he matched her furious stare. "As a matter of fact, you're the first student that I have ever had more than a platonic relationship with, and just so we're clear, I didn't take advantage of you. You threw yourself at me, and if I'm not much mistaken, you enjoyed everything just as much if not more than I did."

"It wasn't me, it was my mother, and for some strange reason she loved you. What a horrible choice that was on her part. There are so many other people she would have been better off with. You don't care about anyone but yourself."

His eyes suddenly had that strange, pained look that she had seen in his office the morning after their second night together. "That's not true, and I think you know it."

"Please, don't patronize me. A beautiful woman cared about you, but the moment she did anything that wasn't up to your standards, you left her behind. You're really good at hating people, aren't you? You hated her for doing something that wasn't even her fault, you hate Harry for being James Potter's son, and you hate me for being Sirius Black's daughter. I don't know, maybe you also hate me for being hers as well, but I think you're just more pissed about the fact that now there's proof that my mother slept with him. That must be pretty embarrassing for you." Every word she spoke was icy with venom, but his eyes weren't looking much safer.

"Children shouldn't talk about things they know nothing about."

"You didn't think I was so much of a child when you were fucking me a few weeks ago," she growled.

"If I had been aware it was you, I wouldn't have done it," he said furiously, but it was the first time he actually sounded as though he was attempting to defend himself.

"But you knew the second time. You knew perfectly well it was me, but you went ahead and did it anyway. Did you even know that when you finished, it wasn't my mother anymore?" There, the words were out, and judging by the look on his face, he hadn't known. Now, however, he looked very curious.

"Why didn't you react? As far as I could tell, you were still acting very much like Cassandra."

She couldn't let him know that she had been in full control of herself for quite some time before it was over. She just couldn't give him that kind of satisfaction. "Because I wasn't in control for very long, and it was only just before we finished, then Mum took over again. I was just there long enough to realize what was happening before it was done."

For once, he didn't seem to be able to come up with anything insulting to say. "I didn't know."

"I'm sure you didn't, you seemed rather distracted at the time," she hissed, focusing very powerfully on the table. Tears were starting to heat up around her eyes and she most certainly did not want to cry in front of him. It was just difficult to remember that helpless feeling, made even more powerful by the fact that she had been enjoying herself and hating herself for it. When they sat in silence for a while, she absently reached out and picked up one of the doughnut holes, popping it into her mouth without really thinking about what she was doing.

"You like those?"

The question took her by surprise and she looked up at him. "Yeah, what's wrong with that?"

He shook his head as though scolding himself for asking. "Nothing, it's just that I remember Cassandra liked them quite a bit. She always got them from the kitchens when she felt like a snack."

It was uncomfortable to hear Snape talking in an almost nostalgic tone, because she felt the same way. There had always been an abundance of the little treats in their home, but it seemed strangely tainted by the fact that Snape knew about Cassandra's love for them too.

"I should get back to school," she said finally, turning to slide out of the booth.

"You still haven't said why you came into Hogsmeade."

"I've already told you it's none of your business."

"If you tell me, then I won't tell Dumbledore about your little stroll off the grounds."

She looked at him for a moment, then said the only thing she figured would make some sense without insinuating that she really cared one way or the other. "Mum wanted to know that you were all right. I'm not surprised you're alive, though. People as hateful as you just never seem to really go away."

His eyes drifted to the bowl of doughnut holes as he pointed out, "You sound so disappointed that I'm alive, but you're the reason that I'm sitting here." Now looking directly into her suddenly uncertain eyes, he added, "Your actions couldn't have been Cassandra, she's no longer inside of you, and I don't think you're here right now because of her either. _You_ were concerned, _you_ came here against school rules, and no matter how much you wanted to leave the moment you saw me, you still sat down to talk to me. Cassandra may have affected you, but in the end it's your free will that is making decisions. Perhaps your free will has been operating much more than I originally believed."

Necia couldn't believe his nerve. He hadn't really gone near the topic during his little speech, but she knew perfectly well that he was insinuating that their second night together had also been partly her decision. Had it been? Had she let her mother take over because her memories of their first night, while disturbing, had made her want to feel that closeness again? _'No, that's just sick. I had no choice in the matter.'_ But no matter how much she didn't want to think about it, those two nights had been wonderful when her own revulsion wasn't interfering. Even now, looking completely mundane with half a blueberry muffin sitting in front of him, she could still see his face in the dark of his bedroom, still feel his hands on her, still feel the pleasure that had been such a contrast to the emotional pain she had been dealing with since her friends abandoned her. She wondered if he was remembering it as clearly as she was at that very moment.

Why was she letting herself think about it? The creep would probably be very willing to do it all again even without her mother's personality dominating her, and letting him believe that it was something she wanted was the last thing she needed right now. "Well, here's a little free will for you." With that, she walked very quickly out of the shop, picked up the cloak from the ground, dusted it off, and pulled it over her once she was out of anyone's sight. At least she could move on with a clear conscience now. Snape was alive and as cruel as ever. What had driven her to go see him herself? Now that she was away from him, the thought of asking Dumbledore seemed like the better option.

* * *

Severus watched her stride off down the street with something that looked very suspiciously like Potter's Invisibility Cloak. That explained how she had gotten here without being seen.

That confrontation had been very enlightening, although not in an entirely good way. There was evidently enough of Cassandra left in her for her to want to know how he was doing, but he was sure that now that she had satisfied her curiosity, Necia's hate would take over. If he was lucky, that was the last he'd see of her.

Yet again, he felt the familiar twinge of guilt that seemed to be plaguing him this year, although originally it had been because of abandoning Cassandra. He honestly hadn't known that Necia had come back to the surface while he'd been making love to her mother, and he was far from pleased about it. He had forced himself on women before, back when he had been a fully fledged Death Eater and they had broken into Muggle homes for a bit of fun torture. That was something he wasn't proud of, but in a way, he had done it again the second night he had been with Necia. Although she had been willing at first, Necia must have been terrified when she came to her senses. He didn't like to think of what Cassandra would have said if she were still alive. Necia was her daughter, and he had basically raped her. That wasn't how it had felt at the time, but facts were facts. It was Necia's body, and if she were in her right mind, she would never have let him touch her.

For some reason completely unknown to him, the memory of dancing with her at the Yule Ball came back to him, and he distinctly remembered the heat of her back beneath his hand, how stunning she had looked in her attempts to impress Potter, and even now he could smell her perfume. Now that he thought about it, she had looked very much like her mother that night, and even though he hadn't realized it at the time, that was probably what had made him enjoy the dance on any level, although a lot of the reason had been that he had liked her discomfort with the situation.

Why was he still thinking about her? The only thing she had been good for was channeling her mother's personality, and now that that was over, he should be able to easily forget about her. But he couldn't very well forget her dark hair draped over his pillow that second night. As beautiful as she had looked at the Yule Ball, she had been even more breath-taking that night, when she was laying beside him wearing nothing but sheets.

His eyes settled on that last place he had been able to see her before she disappeared from view, and as suddenly as if someone had written it in the air in front of him, he knew he'd be seeing her again. Just before she had left, her eyes had glinted with something that had nothing to do with Cassandra, and certainly didn't involve affection although he couldn't quite place it. _'I'm imagining things. She quite obviously intends to never see me again.'_ But things rarely go as planned, and as he headed back to the Hog's Head, he couldn't shake the feeling that he hadn't seen the last of her.


	21. NEWT Stress

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Haunted

By Be Boring

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Chapter 20: N.E.W.T. Stress

N.E.W.T.s. They were the one thing on every seventh year's mind in the few weeks before the tests, and Necia suddenly felt as though someone were beating her over the head with a rock every time she looked at her notes. She just couldn't study anymore, but every time she did, she found something new that she had completely forgotten about and would more than likely come up in the tests.

The teachers had loaded them up with so much homework that some of the students actually forgot about lunch and showed up to their first afternoon class looking very confused. As if the teachers weren't bad enough, Hermione wouldn't let them rest for a moment in the common room. The stress was taking its toll on her as well. One night it took Ginny nearly fifteen minutes to remind Hermione that she was a sixth year and wasn't taking the N.E.W.T.s, because Hermione had suddenly realized that she hadn't helped her study and was thrusting her notes in the poor girl's face.

The first morning of their tests, which would be their Charms test, most of the seventh years didn't even go down to breakfast. They walked down and sat in the common room defeatedly with their notes and stared blankly at them until it was time for them to go down and wait in the entrance hall. An old wizard with an extremely hunched back called them down the side steps that the Hufflepuffs went down to get to their common room while the fifth years walked stonily into the Great Hall. They were led to a room roughly the size Necia would have guessed of a small village. It must have normally been used for storage, because in the corridor outside of it were huge stacks of boxes that were taller than any of them.

She found herself a table at the edge of the room and sat down, soon to be joined by Seamus Finnigan, Hannah Abott, and Padma Patil. The instructors were doing their best to make sure nobody was sitting next to a close friend. Necia accepted her copy of the test from a witch who looked as though she were only still alive through magic.

Despite the fact that Charms was probably Necia's worst subject, she didn't think she was doing too bad. In fact, by the time she finished, it looked as though there was still about five minutes left in the hourglass at the front of the room. She looked balefully down at her answer sheet. She felt absolutely no ambition to double-check her answers. Instead, she rested her head on her arms and closed her eyes, slowly scanning over the charms that Flitwick had told them might come up in their practical exam. It wasn't too long though before the stress of all the studying she had done caught up with her and before she had gone through even ten charms, she had drifted off to sleep.

"What are you doing here?" asked a silky, almost deadly voice from somewhere to her left. She was in some kind of bedroom, perhaps a hotel room, but it was so dark that most of it was obscured by shadows. The speaker was completely hidden in the expanse of blackness to her left, although she could sense him moving around.

"I needed to see you again," she whispered, feeling like saying it any louder would be a crime. She couldn't let anyone find her here.

"Oh really?" There seemed to be a smile in his voice, although not a kind one. "I can't imagine why you'd want to see me. You've made it very clear that you never want to speak to me again."

"I'm not here to talk," she replied, stepping out of the only lighted area in the room and into the shadows. She was immediately enveloped by blackness, but when she reached out a hand, she could feel him. Without warning, he seized her and pulled her against him roughly, his lips crushing down on hers as he lifted her up and dropped her onto a bed that had appeared out of nowhere. Suddenly, the scene grew brighter and she could see him above her, staring down at her body with a ravenous look in his eyes.

"Just ask me once, and I'll do it," he whispered, his lips brushing her ear as he spoke. As he sucked her earlobe into his mouth, she groaned and murmured back, "Please just do it."

That was all it took. In one swift movement he was inside of her, forcing her deeper into the bed with every thrust as her nails clawed at his back in sheer pleasure. An unintelligible sound escaped from her lips, but he cut it off as he kissed her again, clutching the back of her head so tightly that she thought it would burst. Every moment heightened the heat that was building in her, and just seconds before it seemed it would break out of her…

"Quills away!" called out a feeble old voice, and Necia's head jerked up. Her eyes darted to the people around her, but they weren't sparing any glances in her direction, so at least she hadn't been making any noises in her sleep. She picked up her test paper as the parchment with her answers went flying through the air toward the wizard who had led them down here.

Although every waking moment was spent dwelling on the tests, Necia couldn't control her dreams. Nearly every night since their meeting in Hogsmeade had been spent in his arms, although not literally. The setting was always different; sometimes they were in school, sometimes somewhere in Hogsmeade, and even once at her own house. But no matter where they were, they always did the same thing.

She didn't understand it at all. Why was she dreaming about him like this? And in the dreams, it wasn't like he was any friendlier or even the least bit romantic. He just slammed into her and that was that.

"You're not worried about the test, are you?" Ron asked suddenly from right beside her. Necia jumped, she hadn't even realized he was standing there. She must have looked upset.

She forced a smile at him. "No, I'm just wiped out. How do you think you did?"

"Bloody awful," he replied lightly, as though it didn't really matter much to him. "I just hope the house-elves made us something really good for lunch after that monster, otherwise I think I'll go on strike."

She grinned. "I find that unlikely. You couldn't stop the tests or your mother would kill you, and you couldn't stop eating because you just don't have it in you."

"Hermione would be thrilled if I did give up on meals, though. It would be one less person for the house-elves to have to feed." As he spoke, she saw his eyes flash unconsciously to the other side of the room, where Hermione was very slowly making her way toward the door with her face buried in her test papers.

"She looks pretty when she does that," Necia commented lightly, watching Ron out of the corner of her eye.

"Yeah she does," he murmured distantly, then his eyes widened and his head whipped around to look at her as it struck him what he had just said. She laughed at the stricken expression on his face.

"Don't worry, I won't tell her you said that unless you say I can. I might tell Harry, though, or maybe Ginny. Then I can tell Seamus, Dean, and Nev—"

If his face had turned any redder, she supposed it would have had to suck the color from his hair, because he certainly couldn't grow that crimson naturally. "Don't…I mean, I'd really rather you didn't…please?" he finished finally, looking rather helpless.

Still chuckling as they reached the door, she said, "Relax, your secret's safe with me. Besides, it's only natural. Look how much time you two spend together."

"I spend more time with Harry," he grumbled darkly. She grinned again.

"Yeah, but you're not attracted to Harry." He blushed again and opened his mouth, probably to say that that wasn't what he meant, but at that moment Harry caught up with them.

"How did you guys do?"

"Okay," Necia replied.

"Terrible," Ron said at the exact same time. "What about you?"

"I actually think I did pretty good. I'll never beat Hermione with my percentage, but I'm still hoping I got an 'Outstanding.' That's probably just wishful thinking, but I can dream."

"How did you guys do?" Hermione asked as she finally reached them.

Necia and Ron rolled their eyes, they didn't really feel like going through that yet again, but they were saved the trouble when Harry actually took the task of discussing the test with her. Necia knew the N.E.W.T.s were really important to him, especially since he wanted so badly to become an Auror.

Ginny smiled brightly up at them when they reached the table, and Harry and Necia took seats on either side of her. Hermione and Ron sat down across from them, and when Necia's eyes connected with Ron's and she tipped her head slightly towards Hermione, his face flushed almost as deeply as before.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked when she realized her brother's face was nearly the same shade as the rubies in their House hourglass.

He forced a large chunk of roast beef into his mouth before grunting, "Mm-hmm."

"Hey, what's he doing here?" Harry asked, looking out into the entrance hall. Turning to look as well, Necia was horrified to see Snape standing just inside the front doors, talking in hushed tones to Dumbledore. Her dream rushed back to her and she blushed, turning back to her food and trying to concentrate all her attention on eating, but it wasn't a very captivating activity. Her eyes kept drifting back in his direction, although he hadn't so much as glanced at the Great Hall yet. Whatever he and Dumbledore were talking about was apparently serious, because Dumbledore was displaying none of his usual genial spirits.

"I wonder if they're still tracking down Death Eaters?" Hermione commented quietly to the others. "After all, there's still a few out there, and now that their names are dirt, they have nothing to lose."

"I wish they'd just arrest him," Ron said grumpily, studying Snape's prominent profile. "I don't care if he turned spy, he's the greasiest git on the planet."

Necia was inclined to agree, but she felt guilty about the other thoughts crossing her mind at the sight of him. Those damn dreams were really getting to her. Many times they didn't completely finish, which meant she woke up very frustrated and half in the mind to jump the first male in sight. Unfortunately, the first two guys she ran into were Harry and Ron, and that just wouldn't work. Ron was quite technically free to be with anyone he wanted, but he was interested in Hermione. Of course, she didn't think Ron would say no if she threw her naked body at him, but she just wasn't that determined to satisfy her needs. She could hold off, she wasn't that desperate.

* * *

"So how soon will this happen?" Severus asked, looking apprehensively at a Hufflepuff fourth year as she walked past them to head back to her dormitory.

"Alastor, Tonks, and Kingsley are already on their way, and others will soon be following. It should be over in a matter of hours, if all goes well."

Severus had been very surprised that morning to be woken up by an owl throwing itself furiously into his window, which had apparently been charmed to be unbreakable because the only damage the owl was causing was to its own head. It had been carrying a letter from Dumbledore, saying that he had something very important to tell him and that he should come to Hogwarts around lunch time. It turned out that there had been a breakthrough in the search for the remaining Death Eaters. Apparently they were all living together just outside of London, not too far from where Sirius's house was. The Aurors were planning to apprehend them in the middle of the afternoon, when the weather became warmer and perhaps they wouldn't be quite as on guard.

This was something he had longed for for years. As soon as the other Death Eaters were gone, he was free to live wherever he wanted as openly as he liked, without having to worry about being attacked by anyone who knew he was a traitor. When Voldemort had returned, not many of them were willing to accept Severus back into the fold, Voldemort least of all, but he had fed them carefully chosen tidbits of information that greatly helped them, although the Order already knew what he was telling them and were preparing to protect themselves and form a counter-attack. Soon Voldemort, although still not quite prepared to trust him fully again, began to realize how useful he was and didn't try to torture him for an admission of guilt quite as often. The others, however, had kept their distance. Only Lucius had remained somewhat close to him, but that was because of their history together. _'Look how that turned out,'_ he thought sarcastically.

"Where will you go after all's said and done?" Dumbledore asked in a more comfortable tone of voice. After all, it didn't matter so much if students overheard them talking about his future accommodations.

"I'm not sure, but I've been thinking about Spain. It's one of the few places I've never been, which means I know absolutely nobody there. I couldn't ask for much more, could I?"

Dumbledore smiled rather sadly at him. "For your sake, I really wish you weren't such a lone wolf. People aren't really all that bad."

"Depends on the people you have been lucky or cursed enough to know in your lifetime. Personally, I could quite happily become a hermit."

Dumbledore smiled indulgently. "Now that's something I would like to see. Come on, the students will be heading to class soon. You may as well get something to eat."

Severus followed him into the Great Hall. Several curious stares came his way, but he didn't so much as flinch as he stared directly at the teachers' table. Whispers broke out all around him and he quite distinctly heard some kids say, "Oh no, he's back."

"If I were really coming back, my first order of business would be to put you in detention, Creevey," he whispered to the younger Creevey brother, Dennis, just low enough so that Dumbledore didn't hear him. The boy paled and slumped down in his seat, apparently horrified that Snape had heard him. Feeling slightly better, he continued up the path between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables. He was very aware of the eyes on him as he passed by Potter's gang, but he refused to look at them for the risk of making eye contact with Necia. It was just easier to pretend that she didn't exist.

That was a rather difficult task at night. Memories of both Cassandra and Necia tormented him constantly during his sleep, usually culminating with the memories that he knew she loathed him for. At least she had never pressed charges. He didn't need that kind of information out there about him.

"It's good to see you again," Minerva said as briskly as she always did, significantly taking away some of the meaning of her words. He nodded politely and sat down, suddenly famished. Besides, nothing he had eaten since he left could match Hogwarts' food. As he began to eat, students filed out of the Great Hall while the exam officials began setting up the room in O.W.L. formation while the teachers finished their meal. He had completely forgotten it was test time.

"I'll need to bring in the fifth years," Flitwick said, sliding off his chair and heading for the doors leading to the entrance hall. Severus hastily finished what was on his plate and left the room. He had no interest in watching them take their tests. He headed back for the entrance hall as well, although that meant he would be walking through all the students to leave, but suddenly he was longing again for the solitude of his room. As the students stepped back to let him through, he nearly ran directly into Potter, who returned his cold look in much the same way his father had so many years ago. Then his eyes met Necia's.

She didn't look away, which was what he would have expected her to do, but instead her gaze took him by surprise. The normal hostility was there, but something else lingered behind it. Before he could figure out what it was, his feet had already unconsciously carried him to the door and he was out of the building. That look burned into his mind as he crossed the grounds, and suddenly he realized where he recognized it. It was the look that he had become familiar with whenever he encountered women in the Porter's Inn. Those women weren't interested in him, they were simply seeking an escape from something, whether it was something difficult in their lives or if they were just seeking to escape from their own mind for a while. In the end, it didn't actually help anything, but they were given a break from thinking, from worrying about anything. They were just there to enjoy themselves in the most natural way.

When Necia had looked at him, it had been with that yearning that the women from the Porter's Inn glowed with when a suitable male came through the door. They weren't necessarily looking for someone attractive or someone they might get along with, they were looking for the most likely person to leave them and never attempt to contact them again. Severus filled that qualification beautifully. If Necia turned up in his room that very night and was willing, he would have his way with her and send her on her merry way. He knew the reason that she had looked at him like that as opposed to the other men around her was because she already had memories of being with him, and probably subconsciously figured it was safer to stick with a person who was tried and true at making her feel what she needed to feel. After all, she was still extremely inexperienced.

When Severus reached his room again and sat down on the edge of the bed, he knew something for certain. She would come to him. He didn't know when, or if she would even be able to go through with it, but he knew that she would come. When she did, he would be waiting for her.

* * *

With each test Necia had to take, her mind began to feel more and more as though it were being stretched from the supple, rounded blob it was into a half-cooked pancake that was oozing down her spine. The harder she studied and the more she tried to remember while she was taking her tests, the more it seemed that her brain was just melting away, as though it didn't want to deal with the stress and was trying to leave her behind to handle it. Ginny found this analogy hysterical, but Harry, Ron, and Hermione agreed with her. In fact, it seemed that the entire seventh year was stretched to its limit. Hannah Abbot had passed out in her practical Transfiguration test, but before she fell her wand emitted a strange puff of smoke and transformed the table she was supposed to be turning into a dog instead into about eighty bats. Students had torn from the room, and one of the Slytherins ended up jinxing a whole group of innocent bystanders in her attempts to get rid of one of the bats, which had rather taken a liking to her.

Yet with the increase in her stress level, so came a powerful magnification in the passion and detail of her dreams. Now she woke up feeling less rested than when she first fell asleep because in her mind, she had been wide awake and quite active all night. But it wasn't just Snape she was dreaming about anymore.

While her dreams usually ended with him, they began with vivid memories of her mother, which tended to get interrupted by different visions of Draco dying a horrible, bloody death, after which she and Snape would latch onto each other. Occasionally her friends appeared in the dreams, shouting strange things at her and confusing her while she was trying to get away from Draco, who could explode at any given moment. Finally, Necia snuck down to the room Dumbledore had set aside for her to practice Potions in and made herself a potion for dreamless sleep. She didn't even bother going back to Gryffindor Tower, she simply conjured a sleeping bag to sleep in right in the room. The next day was Saturday, she didn't need to worry about exams.

Yet when she woke up without having had any dreams, it seemed that her mind tried to make up for it by thrusting unwanted images into her head while she tried to relax with her friends, popping in at odd times, like when she and Ginny were cheering on Harry's bishop as it tried to pummel Ron's significantly more confident queen. One moment she was encouraging the bishop to stand up before the queen could strike again, the next she nearly toppled backward out of her chair as Lucius Malfoy's face rose in the air in front of her, bearing the same expression it had when he'd killed Cassandra.

In the end, she knew it came down to stress. It had been a horrible year, she couldn't really be surprised. After all, her mother had died, she had been thrust into a new school with people she had never met before, the truth came out about her name, her friends abandoned her, she was kidnapped by one of her own family members, possessed by her mother, slept with the teacher she hated beyond anyone else, was attacked by and later witnessed the death of yet another family member, and now on top of it all she had to take the hardest tests anyone could be expected to suffer through. No, she wasn't surprised at all, and she supposed it was logical that she was thinking about Snape this much. Although it wasn't what she had wanted, her mother had loved him and from the few memories she had of being with him, he had loved her too. While it disgusted her, he had been incredibly gentle, more so the second time when he was more in control of himself, and she had felt unbelievably close to him as her mother. It was that closeness that she was seeking right now.

It wasn't until the following Saturday, just after the end of the exams, that the dam of need inside her finally burst. She had been visiting Tonks, who had originally been sitting with Lupin when the teachers were called into a meeting. Tonks had managed to grab her attention as she was heading back to the dormitories after dinner and dragged her into Lupin's office so they could talk. As she was finally returning to the dorms, she noticed something a little out of the ordinary.

A door that she had never really paid attention to was open as she turned a corner. She supposed it was an empty classroom or maybe a broom cupboard, but she had never seen anyone go in there. Creeping up to the door, her mouth dropped open at the sight that greeted her eyes.

Half-dressed and apparently very focused on one another were Ron and Hermione. The room was indeed an old classroom that probably hadn't been used in years except maybe for its current purpose. They were sitting on the ground, or rather on a blanket that Hermione probably had conjured, with Hermione merely in her undergarments and Ron with his robes half off and tangled around his lanky waist. Necia covered her mouth with one hand and stepped back, very slowly and carefully closing the door. As shocked as she was about what she had just seen, they deserved some privacy. After all the bickering they had done this year, she supposed she should have expected that they would finally release their pent-up emotions like this.

The sight of them woke something very powerfully inside of Necia, as though the surge of water bursting from the dam was now flooding her body, making her horribly aware of what she wanted more than anything right at that moment. _'Ginny and Harry will never miss me. In fact, if I leave them alone long enough they just might get the same idea as Ron and Hermione.'_

She couldn't believe she was actually contemplating this. She had already taken her N.E.W.T.s, so what could Dumbledore do if he caught her sneaking off the grounds? Detentions wouldn't bother her, and she didn't very much care if Gryffindor won the Inter-House Championship or not.

Suddenly, her feet were carrying her toward the entrance hall. The cool night air played gently around her face, almost gently lifting her along as she crossed the grounds toward the gates separating the castle from Hogsmeade. It was even blowing in the direction of the wizarding village, as though it were telling her to go there, not that she needed telling. She already knew what she wanted. Now it was just a matter of finding him.

Walking swiftly through the village, Necia was greeted only with dark windows and deserted shops. _'I'll never find him, I don't even know where to start looking,'_ she thought desperately.

Without warning, a window brightened right above her head as she walked past a shabby-looking building. The light flickered onto the sign that hung above the front door. _'The Hog's Head. Why didn't I ever think of that?'_

"_Alohamora,_" she whispered, pointing her wand at the front door. It unlocked itself with a gentle _click_ and she pushed it open, heading for a set of stairs just off to the side of the bar. It was easy to see once she was up there that most of the east side of the upper floor was home to the owner of the bar, but there were about ten rooms that looked much shabbier. It was easy to see which one had alerted her to the bar; light was glowing underneath the door.

Before she could even raise a fist to knock, the door opened and Snape's frame filled the doorway. He only looked at her for a moment before taking hold of her arm and dragging her into the room. She only distantly heard the thud of the door closing, for Snape had already pressed his lips eagerly against hers, one hand reaching out and turning off the lights.

When her back was suddenly pressed flat against a wall, he pulled slightly away from her and whispered, "I need you to say it. You have to ask me."

The words were so much like her dream that her answer was immediate, "Please just do it."

In the end, she was grateful that he had taken away the light. It was easier to let herself go when she didn't have to look at him, didn't have to be reminded of who he was and why this was so unbelievably wrong. It somehow made it more tolerable when he touched her, when he followed nearly the exact same route of readying her as he had last time, as though it were a well-rehearsed dance. When he finally plunged into her with the same harsh passion that he had in her dreams, she could allow herself to let go and completely succumb to everything she was feeling because this time it really was her. This had been her decision, it was what she wanted, and in the end, if she decided it had been wrong, she could actually accept responsibility. There would be no blame passed around.

When all was said and done and Snape had fallen sound asleep, she picked up her robes and left without a single trace of guilt. She had gotten what she wanted, there was no point in sticking around to deal with him in the morning.

Just as she reached the Fat Lady, Hermione and Ron came striding up the corridor, both freezing at the sight of her. From a distance, Necia would have laughed at the situation. It was pretty obvious what they had all been doing. Their robes weren't sitting right, their hair was a mess, and they all looked rather pleased with themselves. When Ron opened his mouth to say something, she held up a hand. "Don't ask me and I won't ask you."

"Fair enough," he replied, while Hermione prodded the Fat Lady awake and gave her the password. They all walked into the common room and Necia immediately took off for the staircase to the girls' rooms. The other two could have some time alone to say their proper goodnights. Right now she just wanted to sleep, and just as she had suspected, it was the first naturally dreamless sleep she had had in weeks.


	22. Someday Goodbye

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Haunted

By Be Boring

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Chapter 21: Someday Goodbye

"Ginny, dear, would you please get the dishes started?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she began covering the leftovers of Christmas dinner. Ginny, who was all too eager to have an excuse to use magic out of school now that she had celebrated her seventeenth birthday, almost carelessly flicked her wand at the table and directed the dishes to the sink. Everybody leaned back so that their plates didn't smack their chins as they passed.

"Showoff," Ron mumbled as he pushed himself away from the table. "Mum didn't let _me_ do that so soon after I came of age."

Harry grinned. "That's because she learned her lesson with Fred and George."

Necia smiled automatically with Hermione, although she was feeling rather lazy at the moment with her stomach pleasantly stuffed to its bursting point. Turning to face her from his position across the table, Harry commented, "Well, we're here together after all."

Ginny stepped away from the sink and glanced at them curiously. "What are you guys talking about?"

Necia was mystified as well, until Harry explained, "Around last Christmas we were discussing where we would be a year from then, and we wondered if we would still get together at Christmas. Looks like we made it."

"I say that next year, we should all invade Necia's house," Ginny said as she returned to the table, leaving the dishes to roughly clean themselves in the sink. "Hopefully you'll actually have it finished by then," she teased.

Almost immediately after graduating from Hogwarts, Necia had been offered a job as a potion-maker for St. Mungo's. She had been thrilled, for it gave her the perfect excuse to move back into the house she had shared with her mother, although it didn't take long before she decided to make some changes. At first it had just been a few small things: rearranging some of the furniture in the living room, magically moving the counters around in the kitchen, re-landscaping outside. Finally, she just decided to take it all the way. Nearly the entire layout of the house was currently being redone by trained wizards, although they had Christmas off, which meant that her house was barely livable at the moment. She could still sleep in her bedroom, but she had to go out to eat. As difficult as it was to change the home she had grown up in, she just couldn't take the memory flashes every time she stepped into the kitchen. She could still see her mother on the floor, still see Lucius's furious eyes. In the end, she knew she just needed to take drastic measures to make sure the house wouldn't be capable of reminding her of that awful time, although she refused to change her mother's bedroom. That would remain as it was.

"If it's not, I'm hiring someone else. Even Fred and George would be able to remodel a house within a year, although it might not be safe."

"Don't even let them hear that idea," Ron shuddered. "Your house would be more dangerous than a Blast-Ended Skrewt." Because his N.E.W.T. scores hadn't been high enough for him to enter the Auror training program with Harry, Ron had been helping Fred and George at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He managed most of their overseas orders.

Although Harry was now studying to be an Auror and Ginny was still at Hogwarts, they had managed to keep a fairly strong relationship. They met during Hogsmeade weekends if Harry was free and nearly wore Hedwig's feathers off sending her back and forth with their letters. So far during the Christmas holidays they had been inseparable.

Hermione was now a trainee Healer who was greatly impressing her superiors at St. Mungo's with how rapidly she was learning everything they presented to her. She always became rather red in the face when she mentioned that the Healer who supervised her was running out of things to teach her. She owned a comfortable little house not too far from the hospital, which Ron consequently spent a great deal of time at. Mrs. Weasley had confided to Ginny and Necia that he spent just as many nights there as he did at home. She was expecting him to move in with Hermione before too long.

'I wonder what Snape's doing tonight,' she wondered idly. Although just a matter of months earlier this would have been an odd thought for her, it was perfectly ordinary now. He had accepted a job identical to hers in Spain and, because he had the option to work out of his home, he bought a house outside of a miniscule village and spent nearly all of his time there. This was something she knew because she had visited him there.

That night after she had finally given in to the stress which the N.E.W.T.s had placed on her, she had expected everything to magically go away. At the time she thought that one night should have taken care of everything, but it hadn't been long before she realized that she couldn't have been more wrong. If anything, it had only intensified her need to be with him again because she had finally slept with him while in her right mind. Eventually, she learned through the other potion-makers she worked with that he had been hired in Spain. That one little piece of information had started everything.

She tried moving on with other men, but the only one that she had allowed herself to become serious with hadn't fulfilled her at all. It hadn't been terrible, but it left her feeling distinctly hollow, as though it had been missing something. At least that was easy enough to figure out. Snape had been exceedingly intense, it simply seemed to emanate from him, something that she didn't think anyone else would be able to compare with.

As goodbye hugs were passed around, Necia already knew she wasn't going home. Her bedroom was rather drafty right now anyway. Not that she needed that as an excuse, but she could taunt him with it when she arrived, using it as her flimsy reason not to go home and leave him alone. Besides, she knew perfectly well he didn't want her to leave. He just wouldn't want to talk, and that was fine with her. She wasn't to the stage in her life where she wanted a serious romantic relationship. She wasn't looking for a husband, she was simply looking for some sense of fulfillment, and if Severus Snape could provide it, then so be it.

* * *

Severus leaned back in his chair before the fire, letting the heat roll pleasantly over his face. Despite it being the holiday season, he had spent the better part of the day working on a Wolfsbane Potion that had been requested, but now that it was simmering, he was forcing himself to take a break. He had been extremely focused on his work today, more so than usual, and he was pretty sure he knew why. Usually at this time he was in the Porter's Inn, either seeking out a suitable blonde or already enjoying her. This was the first time in many years that he hadn't gone. But what would be the purpose? She was sure to come tonight, and she was much more satisfying than a blonde whore from the Porter's Inn.

Spain had been the ultimate escape for him; a place where he could relax and not have to worry about anything except earning his next paycheck, which was considerably larger than the one he had received at Hogwarts. Dumbledore visited occasionally, but more often than not he settled for writing letters. After all, Fawkes could deliver them much faster than an owl.

This house kept him beautifully isolated from the rest of the world, which was why he had been so taken aback when a knock echoed through the house in the beginning of September. Dumbledore was surely busy with students and the start of a new school year, so who else could possibly be visiting him? He had expected to find almost anyone but Necia Malfoy standing on his doorstep.

"Are you going to invite me in?" she asked lightly, peering around him to take a swift peek at his house.

"What are you doing here?" he asked coldly, closing the door until only his face could fill in the opening.

She shrugged and instead turned her attention to the doorstep she was standing on. "You know, you should really have a welcome mat. Most people do."

"That would indicate that I would welcome visitors, which I don't. How did you find out I was living here?"

"We're in the same line of work. I heard by word of mouth. If you don't want people finding out where you live, you shouldn't let the traveling potion-makers see your application."

He frowned. "It was Jeremiah, wasn't it?"

She nodded. "He mentioned it the last time he came to show us how to make a phlegm-evaporating potion."

Now his black eyes narrowed shrewdly. "Surely he didn't have my address memorized?"

She shrugged again. "No, but simply knowing where you work is more than enough to get started on tracking you down."

"And why would you bother to do that?"

"I was bored."

He scowled, but then opened the door for her and left her standing in the doorway as he returned to his office in the back of the house where he worked on most of his potions. When he had woken up alone after his last night with her, it had been a relief. It seemed like he finally had some level of closure. He had moved to Spain the following week in high spirits, actually smiling when he read the newspaper headlines declaring that the remaining Death Eaters had been sentenced to life in Azkaban. He had spent the rest of his time immersed in his work, not giving himself time to think about anything except for when he dreamed, which always seemed to focus on a combination of Cassandra and Necia, and now that Necia was here, he knew he wasn't going to send her away. She could only be here for one reason, and he certainly wasn't going to turn her down. Although she wasn't Cassandra, something about being with her left him far more satisfied than when he slept with random whores. Not to mention that she had deliberately sought him out. She was the only woman to ever do that.

Necia had spent a long time simply idling in his house while he pretended to ignore her, wondering how long it would take before she would make her wishes clear, but in the end, he had gone to her, surprising her with a fierce kiss as she was glancing inside his pitifully bare kitchen cupboards. Since that night, not only had she returned a fair number of times, but he had gone to her house twice. Those had been two horrendously stressful days of arguing with apothecaries who always seemed to misplace his orders, and he simply couldn't wait around for her next visit to relieve some stress. He had also been morbidly curious to see where Cassandra had lived, but by the time he arrived, Necia had already made a fair amount of changes to the house. She had been shocked to see him there, but like him, she didn't turn him away.

Their visits were random, sometimes distantly spaced and at other times rather frequent. Sometimes she spent the night, sometimes she didn't. Both times he had visited her house, he had stayed the night. They didn't talk much, unless they happened to notice a potion the other was working on, but for the most part their visits were physical. That suited him fine, he wasn't the conversational type, and as long as she continued to play along with it, he was content. Although there was nothing remotely sentimental in their relationship, and usually he had no idea when she would be coming again, he knew she would be here tonight.

As usual, he was right. The customary knock sounded from his front door and he casually pointed his wand at it to open it for her. Her familiar footsteps padded through the front hall until she stopped right behind his chair and leaned over it, her dark hair falling onto his shoulder.

"Merry Christmas, Sev," she whispered, leaning around the chair and pressing her lips eagerly against his. When she pulled back for a breath, she added, "We'll have to see about a Happy New Year as well."

As he followed her to the bedroom, he knew that someday this would have to come to an end. She was using him right now to satisfy needs that he was very capable of handling, keeping her sex life an entirely separate part of her life, one that didn't involve any affection. She saved that for the other people in her life. He was simply a giant toy for her, one that she would eventually tire of when she matured to the point of wanting someone to take care of her both physically and emotionally, which he would never be able to do. He didn't love her and would never be capable of loving her. But that didn't really matter now. For now, he wasn't alone, and that was what mattered more.


End file.
